Dark Legacy 2: Umbral Visions
by Dardarax
Summary: A year has passed since the Dragon Temple was ravaged by the Mad Feran Prince and a well deserved peace has settled upon the realm. But the news of the brief war with the Ferans sparks the interest of an ancient Order whose return marks catastrophe. Conflict brews anew and the new generation of dragons must find their place in the world before it swallows them entirely.
1. Fading Radience

Chapter 1: Fading Radiance

By Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do __not__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Temple or or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. I do, however, own this colossal stuffed teddy bear that watches you in your sleep. He dreams of octopi. So, so many octopi... I also own my own characters who are featured in this story. Their names are listed at the bottom._

The summer sun meandered slowly towards the horizon over the small town of Darrowlight. Long, angular shadows pooled in the wake of the tired sun; shadows made even darker by the vast presence of the Dragon Temple looming high on its rocky throne. A warm breeze whistled through the streets and alleyways and sang to the tired workers on their way back home.

A young white dragon stalked down the half empty road. He was small for his age, with an oddly feminine frame. His reed thin body was, however, as tough as leather and coiled with ropes of muscle. Long, silvery scars etched his pearly scales and grey underbelly, covered only by the satchel that hung around his neck. His dark red eyes remained focused on the market place ahead; his stride quickened as he neared it, hoping the bookstore was not yet closed.

He caught the door to the shop just as the large air dragon emerged, yawning. The albino stopped him with a paw. The wind dragon blinked and looked down at him, raising an eye ridge.

"Master Lyrith, what brings you here at this hour?" the shopkeeper asked with a frown. Lyrith smirked at being called 'master,' enjoying the disdain in the shopkeeper's voice as he said the word.

"The book I bought from you today is missing three chapters," Lyrith replied, pulling out a large volume from his satchel. "I want you to replace it."

"I'm sorry Master Lyrith," the air dragon replied, forcing a smile. "But we're closed."

Lyrith stood his ground, his red eyes intense.

"Sir, it really is too late," the shopkeeper stammered as he met his gaze. "Come back tomorrow and…"

Lyrith continued to stand in his way, his hard eyes scorching. Finally the grey dragon cracked and he looked away with a sigh.

"Alright, I suppose finding you a new copy would only take a few moments."

Lyrith nodded, satisfied and then took a seat at the entrance to wait for the shopkeeper to return. After a few minutes the grey dragon bustled back, muttering to himself. He gave Lyrith the new book. The white dragon accepted it, but did not move out of the way; instead he quickly flipped through the book to make sure everything was there. The air dragon waited impatiently, wanting to get going, but not willing to try and shoo Lyrith away.

After a full minute of checking, Lyrith looked up and put the book back in his satchel.

"Alright, I have everything I need," he turned away to walk back down the street. He made it halfway along when he stopped and glanced back at the shopkeeper as he locked up. "Oh, right… uh, thanks."

The shopkeeper gave him a stiff wave and Lyrith turned to continue on his way. The sun sank even deeper, the shadows it cast now bloated and swollen black. Inside the small houses Lyrith could see the families gathering for dinner, laughing and embracing one another.

Not that long ago, Lyrith thought, he would have looked into those buildings with envy. He would have wished to be part of such festivities. _"Now,"_ he thought with a grin, _"I'm just as well of as them, if not more so."_

Movement off to his left caught his eye and Lyrith turned his gaze to search the shadows. A gang of five young drakes emerged from an alley to his left, moving to cut Lyrith off and surround him. The albino groaned and came to a halt.

_"Great,"_ he thought, glowering around at the five thugs._ "And my day was going so well too."_

"Alright, milky," the leader of the thugs started, taking a step forward to menace the albino. "Give us all your stuff and we might not break bones."

A sneer spread across Lyrith's face at the slur 'Milky.' It had been a while since he had heard that from anyone. Since his adoption most had been careful to not use derogatory terms around him. Though, once upon a time that used to be all he ever heard. It was always easy to pick on the powerless drake, the one who couldn't breathe fire in your face or shock you into unconsciousness if you insulted them. It was almost refreshing to hear it again.

Lyrith glanced around at the thugs not recognizing any of them.

"_They must not know who I am,"_ Lyrith thought to himself with a chuckle. _"Or they probably wouldn't have tried to mess with me."_

"Hey, milky! Don't just stand there cowering, hurry it up and give us your stuff!"

"Yeah, we're on a schedule here!"

"Start with those pendants, they look valuable."

Lyrith glanced down momentarily at the two pendants he wore. One was gold set with a large polished opal and the other was a locket with a large ruby embedded in the front. A sneer crossed his face as the leader, who, frustrated by the silent albino stomped forward to snatch the pendants away. Lyrith sidestepped the swipe and pounced, smashing his head against the big blue dragon. The large, plate like scale crowning his head absorbed most of the impact on Lyrith's end, but the wet thunk and scream that followed proved the thug wasn't so lucky. The bully clutched at his head and stumbled back blood trickling between his claws. Through watery eyes the drake glared at Lyrith and let loose a howl of rage.

"Kill him! Kill the bastard now!"

Lyrith sneered as the rest of the thugs rushed towards him, approaching from all sides. The white dragon lunged at the thug in front of him and swiped a paw at his head. The bully caught it on his horn but Lyr twirled around and lashed out with his tail to knock him flat on his haunches. The other thugs followed after Lyrith, who grabbed the fallen drake by his large horns. He heaved him up and spun him around, throwing him bodily into the other dragons. They cried out in surprise as their friend slammed into them and they toppled like a fence under a rockslide.

The leader of the gang looked down at his friends and then glared over to Lyrith, blood from his broken snout oozing into his fangs. He inhaled and blasted a long stream of icy liquid at the white dragon`s legs. Lyrith saw the attack but couldn't get out of the way in time. He snarled as the fluid splattered along his left side and froze solid, biting into his scales as it held him in place. Lyrith struggled to free himself as the ice dragon lined up another blast.

Two wicked sharp shards of ice flew from his snout, soaring straight at Lyrith. Lyr twisted his leg; the ice fractured around it, only to crack several of his scales. Now free he threw himself to the ground to avoid the attack. Lyrith rolled back to his paws, but his still partially frozen leg and broken scales caused him to wince and lose his balance.

By now the other four dragons had gotten shakily to their paws and saw the albino injured off to the side. Two charged while the others separated to flank him. Lyrith took a second to think, then charged left, heading for the fire dragon. He launched himself at the thug, hunching his left side in front as he aimed for a full body tackle. The fire dragon desperately blasted Lyrith with a burst of flame, in an attempt to ward him away.

The ice along Lyr's flank melted under the intense heat, having protected him from the worst of the fire. Then, he ploughed into the thug, sending him crashing to the ground. Lyrith rolled over him and, back on his paws, stomped down on the drake's head, knocking him out cold with a crack.

Lyr grinned and, now free of the ice, dashed through the opening he created and towards the ice dragon leader. The thug cast several more spikes of ice at him as he approached, fear growing in his face as the white dragon ducked each one. Lyrith sidestepped the last spike and then pounced, striking down at the thug from above, claws extended.

The gang members skidded to a halt as the ice dragon let out a scream of pain, their muzzles falling open as they saw him being borne down. He and Lyrith crashed together against the pavement. Lyrith stood over him, the white's claws dug deep into his flesh, his fangs at his throat. There was silence for a moment as everyone took in the sight. Then, Lyrith let go and grabbed the drake by the horns to smash his head against the cobblestone. The ice dragon's eyes glazed over and he collapsed limply under the albino. The other dragons stared, stupefied at Lyr as he turned to them with a smirk.

Shouts from some guardsmen caught their attention and the remaining three drakes panicked and fled, running back into the alley and leaving their friends behind. Lyrith faced the feline guards as they stopped to glance around at the mess the fight had made of the street.

"What's going on here?" one of the felines demanded.

"These two and their friends mugged me," Lyrith gestured at the thugs.

"Oh, uh… that's good," the feline replied, startled by Lyr's brusqueness.

"Do you need more or can I go?" Lyrith winced lightly in pain as he stretched. Then he glanced up at the Temple above. "I have places to be."

"Um, well we'll need your name and we'll need…"

"Lyrith."

"Oh! Inferna's son! Please, go right on! We will take care of this sir!"

With that the guards gathered up the two unconscious thugs and dragged them away, only pausing to give Lyrith a short bow. Lyrith grinned at this, hardly able to keep himself from laughing. Then he turned to trot back down the street, heading up the path towards the Temple. Rather than flying, Lyrith decided to take the time and walk, enjoying the strain on his muscles despite the light pain. The view from the path leading up the mountain was gorgeous, from the setting sun to the light speckled town of Darrowlight below.

Lyrith grunted in satisfaction once he reached the large gates leading into the Temple and he stepped through. The guards, a wolf and a dragon glanced down at him and saluted, letting him pass into the garden. Lyrith nodded back, keeping his face neutral to the guards as he entered.

It was so strange for him to be getting such positive attention, even after nearly ten months since Inferna, the Guardian of Fire, adopted him. Having lived seventeen years in an orphanage in the slums of Warfang, such treatment was almost alien to Lyrith, especially considering how poorly most dragons saw albinos.

Lyrith sneered at the thought. He had been relentlessly bullied as a child, being both small and colourless. The fact that he possessed no powers had all but removed his dragoninity in the eyes of others, giving them free access to beat, harass and insult him to their hearts content. Though, he always gave back whatever they sent his way, often times with some extra pain to boot.

Lyr snorted, shaking his head to dismiss the thoughts of the past. Having cleared his head he made his way towards the Grand Hall of the Temple. He was halfway up the steps when he heard his name being called. He looked around and caught sight of a topaz coloured dragoness waving to him from one of the gardens by a setup of paints. Lyrith turned and strode over to her, a warm smile on his snow white face.

"What are you painting, Voltlyn?" Lyrith asked as he approached the plump lightning dragoness. She smiled bashfully and turned her blue gaze to the painting.

"It's, um, a little weird," she said with a nervous laugh, picking up her brush to gesture at the painting. "T… Typhous's commissioner was both specific and, well, um, rather vague in what he wanted. So…"

Lyrith stopped beside her and examined the painting. It was a painting of two avians flying side by side through the sky, only it was upside down and completely inverted in colour. The clouds were blue and the sky a milky, swirling white. The sun was black and the avians' colours were swapped with black instead of the typical white of a dove. Lyrith glanced over at her with a raised eye ridge.

"It's simple but, um… strange to describe," she continued, returning her brush the painting. "There's still more but I'm just trying to get this part done…"

"I don't understand it myself," Lyrith said with a shrug. "It's interesting, but why someone would do this doesn't make any sense to me."

Voltlyn shrugged, giving him a smile. "That's alright, it is rather abstract."

Lyrith sat beside her for a bit, watching her paint. It was only when it had grown noticeably darker that he turned back to speak with her.

"Will you be packing up soon?"

Voltlyn looked up and noticed the dwindling light and sighed.

"Yes, I probably should stop now."

Lyrith nodded and stood up to help her. She gave him a grateful smile and together they took the painting down, set it against a tree and then packed away the rest of the tools. Lyrith hauled up the supplies while Voltlyn carefully carried the painting, in a special sling to keep it from smudging. She took the lead, Lyrith trudging behind with all of her gear. She led him up through the grand hall, mostly empty except for a few students or servants taking an evening walk. They followed the corridors until they found a staircase up and then began their ascent.

Lyr stared after her as they walked and wondered what was on her mind. It had been a while since they had talked and he was curious as to how she was faring. On the outside she didn't show much distress from her time under the abusive talon of Torch, but Lyrith did not doubt it was still there. Even he knew better than to bring it up to her and risk opening such deep wounds.

Voltlyn glanced back and caught Lyrith gazing up at her and she flushed a bright pink. She averted her eyes once more. Lyrith chuckled at this. He couldn't help but like how modest she was about everything. Whether it was her trying to start up a conversation with him, or her giving out gifts, she always couldn't help but stammer and blush. Lyrith became aware of the heavy weight of the gold and ruby locket hanging from his neck and he smirked. Voltlyn had given him it on his hatchday only a few months back.

"Heh, I would have torn them limb from limb had they actually taken this away from me," Lyrith thought back to the thugs he had encountered earlier.

"Sorry, what was that, Lyrith?"

"Nothing."

A smile cracked Lyrith's face, and he sighed deeply. Then he frowned, and pushed the warm feeling away into the back of his mind. Voltlyn lead him through a few halls and into the female's corridor. It was unremarkable, looking very much like the male corridor, despite what most male students claimed. Voltlyn stopped halfway down the hall and placed the painting down carefully against it. She took her key out of her neck pouch and opened the door. She gestured for Lyrith to go in first to put the supplies down

Lyrith stepped into her room and carried the luggage into a corner and gratefully dropped it down. Then he turned and took a look around her room. He would have said it was bare of furnishing and decoration, as the walls were empty of tables, bookshelves and personal items, but this wouldn't be entirely true. Paintings were everywhere, lying on the floors, stacked up in piles and leaning against walls. The difference was that these paintings weren't for decoration, but rather were in storage. These were Voltlyn's own work, left here until she could find a buyer.

Lyrith turned to face Voltlyn as she carefully walked the painting into the room and placed it gently down on a stand to let it dry. Then, exhausted she flopped down on the bed of colourful pillows to rest. Lyrith stood awkwardly in her room as she nestled down, debating what to do. Finally, after one more glance around the room, he cleared his throat.

"So, Voltlyn, um, where did you learn to paint?"

Voltlyn was silent for a moment, looking up to stare at Lyrith with confusion. She opened her muzzle and stopped, trying to think of the right words.

"Oh, well, um, it's nothing special, I just sort of picked up it…"

"So you're telling me that you've always been this talented?"

"Well, no, but um, I mean…"

Lyrith waited for her to answer, pretending to be emotionless while really grinning inside. She stammered for a bit before finally collecting herself with a sigh.

"I… I got a lot of help from my dad," she said finally, looking down at the floor. "At least, before he died. After that I had to practice on my own…"

Lyrith was silent for a moment, realizing that he may have just tread on some wounds of hers.

"Well it definitely paid off," he said finally, taking a step towards her. "I'm… sure your dad would be proud."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Lyr."

Lyrith fell into an awkward silence once more and he quickly glanced around trying to think of something to say. When nothing came he looked back over to her and sighed.

"I suppose I should be heading off now."

"Oh… um… right," Voltlyn murmured, her eyes downcast. The silence returned for a half-minute before Lyrith finally turned and started towards the door of her room. She spoke up once again which caused him to stop.

"So, uh… Lyrith. Would you like to, um, maybe go do something together tomorrow?"

"Like what?" he asked, looking back at her with a raised eye ridge.

"Um… well, I don't know… I guess we could think of something after lunch…"

Lyrith blinked then nodded in agreement. "Sure… let's do that."

Voltlyn beamed. "Okay, um, how about we meet in the dining hall after lunch tomorrow?"

"Alright. I'll meet you at the dining hall then," he said as he stepped out of the room and gave her a weak grin of his own.

"Yeah, see you then," she said as he shut the door, still smiling.

Lyrith took a step back from the door and stared at it for a moment, before he sauntered off to the male's corridor. He headed to the kitchen, it being the fastest route to his own room. He had just entered the kitchen when he noticed that his wounds didn't hurt anymore. Lyr looked down and saw that the cuts and broken scales were healed. The white dragon frowned, trying to remember when he'd taken a life crystal and decided that it was probably just after the fight. He had a couple spares in his bag after all. With that out of the way he resumed his walk, feeling oddly tired.

Lyrith turned right as he entered the male corridor, only to freeze, petrified like a marble statue. Standing just outside his room was a huge bright yellow lightning dragon. The muscle bound drake glanced up at Lyr, smirked and stalked over to him.

Lyrith sneered, his muzzle pulling away to reveal his fangs. "Thunder."

"There you are, snowflake," Thunder declared, his voice resembling his namesake. "I was just dropping by to make sure you were going to follow through with our duel next week."

"Of course I will, foghorn," Lyrith said with a smirk. "I'm not going to pass up a chance to beat your ass twice in front of a crowd."

Half a year ago Thunder, probably under orders by the dragon Torch, provoked Lyrith into started a duel between them. Against everyone's expectations, Lyrith had just barely come out victorious, somehow managing to beat a dragon with two elements, despite having none of his own. Now, months later the rematch was finally around the corner and Thunder never let Lyrith forget this fate.

Thunder laughed heartily. "You won't be so lucky this time, albino. I'll prove to everyone that the last time was a fluke. As good as you are, a powerless lizard like yourself won't match up to a drake like me. After all, I was taking it easy on you the first time around. I won't make that mistake again."

Lyrith's grin widened. "You know, Thunder, I'm glad you have the sound element, because I'll be making you squeal so hard that everyone in the kingdom will know how badly I beat you!"

Thunder laughed. "The only time I scream for females is when they're under me. So yeah, you might actually have a shot at that, Snowy."

A vicious growl tore out of Lyr's throat and he resisted the urge to pounce on Thunder and crush his smug muzzle with a few good stomps. Thunder, seeing Lyrith had no response to that, strode past him confidently. Lyrith watched him go, fuming in frustration.

"Oh yes, I'll make you scream," Lyrith hissed after Thunder, making a tearing motion with his claws. Thunder paused outside of his room and glanced back to him, giving him a wide, humourless grin. They locked eyes for a moment, both refusing to back down. Then, finally, Thunder chortled and stepped into his room and vanished from sight. Lyrith watched the door for a full minute before he turned away, heading to his room in an irritated huff.

He unlocked the large stone door and slipped into the chamber that was now his home. The room was cavernous, the tall ceiling was almost large enough to do flying exercises in and the wide carpeted floor was so thick and fluffy that his paws sank satisfyingly into it. A massive desk lay to his left, while a good half dozen bookshelves stood to his right. After a year of living here he had finally started making an impact on the room with personal effects, but large empty spaces on the walls and floor begged to be filled.

The white dragon had gone three steps into the room before he stopped, dropped his bag to the ground and looked around. It was very dark, the light orbs scattered about the chamber having been shut off and the curtains drawn closed so the moonlight could not get through. He narrowed his eyes and then moved cautiously over to his desk, drew open the drawer and then slammed it shut. The signal turned all of the sunglobes on, lighting up the room in a flash. He squinted at the sudden brightness and then took another look. Hidden behind a large curtain was an adult fire dragoness, her paws sticking comically out of the bottom.

Lyrith grinned triumphantly.

"Not this time, Inferna," he said with a laugh. The dragoness sighed in consternation and stepped out into the light. Her red and orange, flame pattered scales gleamed in the light and her twin gold horns were decorated in their usual bells. Lyrith always wondered why she was able to hide so well with such noisy decorations. She gave him a toothy smile as she plopped down in front of him.

"What gave me away?" she asked with a chiming chuckle.

"Nothing in particular. It was just that this was the exact situation I expected you to try and surprise me with."

Inferna sighed sadly, raising a paw to her forehead. "Am I becoming that predictable? I suppose I will have to change my strategy now that you've got me pinned down!"

Lyrith rolled his eyes. "I'd rather you not do it at all, mom."

Mom. It was still so weird saying that for Lyrith. Just over a year ago he'd been an orphan. He was a nearly adult dragon who had never known his parents or even what it was like to have any. In the orphanage he had grown up in, no potential adopters had ever even considered him for a moment. He'd been the albino brat, a wild drake to be scorned. Then, Inferna came along and brought him to the Temple. She hadn't adopted him then, simply taking him in as her student, though that would come to change months later. More amazing than that, was the fact that she was the Guardian of Flame, one of the most respected dragons anywhere in the world. Now he, Lyrith, once a street rat albino orphan, had more political clout than most nobles. Words couldn't describe how delighted he felt whenever he saw the reactions of some smug busybody or aristocrat the moment they learned who he was.

"Well too bad," she lifted her snout into the air with a playful huff. "It's far too much fun startling you, especially in really awkward situations."

"Not for me."

"Who said it was about you though?" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do you have business here mom, or are you done?" Lyr asked, unable to hide a smile despite his annoyance

"I do," she declared. "I came by to wish my son goodnight."

Lyrith started to give a snarky reply and then stopped himself with a sigh.

"Oh, um… thanks mom. Good night yourself…"

Inferna wrapped her wings about him in a light hug. After a few seconds she backed away and smiled at his slightly embarrassed face.

"So, did you get the book exchanged?" she asked, sitting down once more.

"Yeah, just barely," Lyrith sighed. "Had to push a little though."

"I hope you mean figuratively," she said, half-jokingly.

"Yes I mean figuratively," he shook his eight horned head. Six of the chipped, grey spikes crowning his skull curled backwards, while the last pair jutted forward just under his jaw, almost like a pair of tusks. Of the set of six horns the largest was the middle pair, which curved back a fair bit further than the rest.

"Oh, good."

"Though I didn't treat those bastard thugs with such kindness."

"Oh dear, did someone…"

"Yeah, some pricks jumped me while I was heading back. I sent them on a crash course with the pavement. Won't be bothering me again for a while."

Inferna sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry Lyr, I was hoping that once I adopted you that would stop."

Lyrith shrugged. "I'm just used to it. Don't bother worrying about me."

Inferna gave Lyrith another hug, pulling him tightly against her chest. "If you ever need to talk about it…"

"Yeah, yeah," Lyrith returned the gesture begrudgingly. She broke away and sighed, looking back out the window.

"I suppose I should leave now. It's getting late."

"Probably," Lyrith said with a shrug. He finished with a sly smirk. "And I bet Deran is waiting impatiently."

Inferna blushed lightly, but gave him a wide grin in response. "Oh yes, do I have a night for him in mind, I've gotten some…"

"I don't want to know," Lyrith said flatly, placing a paw on his forehead. Inferna snickered and pranced towards the door, giving him a wink.

"Well you're the one who brought it up."

"And I immediately regretted it."

Inferna opened the door and stepped out.

"Goodnight, Lyr."

"Goodnight, mom," he said after a moment's pause, remembering to smile. Inferna gave him a bright nod and then slowly closed the door. Lyrith stood for a while, facing the door silently. Then he turned to his bed, wandered across the vast distance towards it to finally flop down on the soft cushions. He curled up on it and only faintly remembered to shut off the sunglobes. He picked up one of the books sitting by his bed and slammed it down on the ground, causing the globes to trigger off.

He lay in the darkness, the rising moon peeking through his drapes at him. He let his mind wander off, but it kept returning to the duel with Thunder. It was only hours later that Lyrith managed to doze off, to dream of beaten lightning dragons.

* * *

It was the silence that halted the old gold dragon's typical joviality. Shimaria stood with her golden back turned to him, her gaze fixed intently down at the scroll on the table. She glanced up at him as he entered, her young face stark.

"You're late, Mirrolus," she turned back to the scroll.

"I was out dealing with a tribe of Grublins. They were causing trouble for our trainees and I felt it prudent to…"

"It's not your job to deal with such things anymore. Your place is here, teaching said trainees so they _can_ deal with those kinds of threats."

"I certainly hope that's not the reason you have called me here, Shimaria. If it is then I will leave. I've heard it enough times from the other generals that-"

"That's Lady Shimaria, Mirrolus. Remember your place."

"if each complaint were a brick I could build a to-scale model of Aurscalis Keep."

Shimaria groaned and put her six horned head between her golden paws. "Dammit Mirrolus, had you been anyone else you'd have been hanged by now."

Mirrolus' muzzle twitched upward momentarily. He stepped towards her and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Shimaria. What is the matter? You are far more tense than usual."

"I tend to get like that when around you," Shimaria shrugged his paw off of her shoulder and turned to look up into his face, her gaze hard. "So would you cut the act and pay attention?"

"Even more so than usual," Mirrolus repeated firmly.

"Guards!"

A pair of silver armoured gold dragons burst into the room, searching for threats.

"Help the Master Inquisitor to his seat. He seems to be having trouble hearing again."

The guards saluted and moved over to Mirrolus. The old dragon rolled his eyes and waved them away, taking a seat across from Shimara.

"Fine, fine. I'll pay attention, but you really do need to relax."

The guards glanced between them, hesitantly saluted and returned to their posts, their confused expressions masked by their helmets. Lady Shimaria watched them go and then sighed, turning to face him.

"I wish you'd stop making me have to do that. I don't like having to pull authority on you. You just force my paw, far too often."

Mirrolus waved a paw dismissively. "You said you wanted to get to business, fine. If you haven't brought me here for disciplinary duty for my apparently misguided attempts at doing my job, then why am I here?"

Shimaria steadied herself, taking a deep breath. "The Archivists have informed me that the Prophecy is coming to fruition."

Mirrolus shot up on his cushion, his green eyes wide.

"Why did you not tell me this right away?"

"Because you were purposefully being a pawful."

Mirrolus sat back and shook his twin horned head. "Had you told me that right away…"

"Like you would have given me the chance. Regardless, I brought you here because I have particular need of you," Mirrolous raised an eye ridge at that. Shimaria took another steadying breath before she continued. "For this reason I believe it is finally time to leave the shadows of these lands and return to our home. It is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours and in order to do that I need an emissary. Someone I trust who will go to the Dragon Temple to ready the way for the Order of the Golden Shield's return. I can think of no one better than you, Mirrolus."

"I see. It will be my honour, Lady Shimaria."

"What? No flippant remark?"

"This is serious, Shimaria. Such a monumental event should be met with grace and respect, especially by you, the head of the Order."

Shimaria stared at him incredulously for a moment, her muzzle having fallen open in shock. She swallowed back the bitter anger that bubbled in her chest and forced herself back on topic.

"As I was saying, being the oldest and most experienced member of our order none are more qualified than you to act as dignitary in preparation for the order's return. The Guardians, being trained in the traditional ways will be our greatest allies at regaining our old position."

"You would not send me in place of one of your trained diplomats if you did not require my talents, Shimaria. Tell me everything."

"In addition to making diplomatic contact you will also keep an eye on a few particular individuals for me," Shimaria handed the scroll before her over to Mirrolous. "As of now they are under our protection but the corruption within them is still a problem. I need to know if they will be an issue. And if they are…"

Mirrolus looked over the information on the three and nodded slowly. He glanced up, his expression calm.

"If they cannot be trusted with their curse, my lady, then I will deal with them as I have all who were corrupted by convexity."

The gold dragon rolled up the scroll and tossed it into the cold fire place. He turned and parted his muzzle, loosing a lance of light at the parchment. The scroll disintegrated beneath the burst, the purple and black ink scorched away in an instant.

"Even they would not be much of a threat against me, my lady. Should it come to that."

**Characters Owned by Dardarax:**

Lyrith, Voltlyn, Inferna, Thunder, Torch.

Mirrolus, Shimaria

So, I've just moved house from my home of some 19-20 years to a new apartment. This is, naturally a huge change in my brother's and my own life. I'm certain this will help inspire me to write to some degree, at least for a while as these sorts of changes do tend to bring about new ways of looking at the world.

Either way this won't be stopping me from updating Dark Legacy. I'll be going on a two week schedule, posting a chapter every two weeks from now on. I'm not sure if it'll be on Friday or Saturday but I will try for Friday.

So yeah, I hope this chapter was up to your expectations. I know it's short compared to my old ones from DL 1 but I swear I have a good reason for it. You see, one of the major problems I always faced when writing DL 1 was that the length of the chapters made it almost impossible to properly edit and take forever to write. So if I hit an uninspired streak it means I couldn't just plough through it to get to the end as it would take forever. So I'm shortening the chapters to about 8000-10,000 words maximum to esure that I can write them quickly and edit them expertly. This means you'll get lots of updates (no more two month or longer dry spells) and higher quality writing than before. In exchange though, you'll have a bit less to chew on with each update. xP Still, I feel this style will serve us all better in the end and will ensure I hardly ever slack off.

Thank you all for reading. =)

Ps. A special thanks to my betas Rurikredwolf and Goldengriffiness for their help editing my story. I couldn't get this kind of quality without you two. =3


	2. Prospects

Chapter 2: Prospects

By Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Dragon Temple or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. I do however own a number of original characters, who are listed at the bottom of this chapter. Also I appear to be stuck in a vat of rotting coupons. Please send help to 6-9 Bottom View Avenue. Thank you for your time._

The faint flickering of the candles slowly died away as the last of the wick was devoured. The glimmer of light that parted the darkness of the Temple library dimmed until Tirren had no choice but to snuff it out and produce a replacement. The green dragoness muttered to herself as she fumbled for the candle to place it on the plate beside the old one. A spark from a fire stick lit the wick and light bloomed around the Table once more. Opposite her Sleet sighed and put the book he was reading down so he could rub his eyes.

"Why are we up so early again? Couldn't this studying wait until later? The sun's barely even risen!"

"Sorry Sleet," Tirren said with a sigh, "but this was the only time I was able to get these books. Darius would only let us read them when there wouldn't be many other students around. Knowledge about Convexity is a dangerous thing to be loaning out."

Sleet grumbled but returned to the book, yawning broadly. Tirren smiled and shook her head at the scrawny ice dragon's exaggerated expression. She returned to her own book and skimmed through the next few pages of the text before Sleet spoke up again.

"How did you even manage to get him to loan you these texts anyway? Aren't these from the forbidden section? Students aren't supposed to be looking at these."

"I told him it was so I could help Savron out with his 'problem.'"

Sleet nodded in understanding. Ever since Savron first lost control nearly a year ago his bursts of Convexity have been growing more frequent, if less violent. His training with his parents, Spyro and Cynder, was only helping so much, so getting some knowledge about the subject would give Savron an extra edge in learning control.

"Is that the only reason?" Sleet pondered.

Tirren frowned and buried her face into the book, pretending not to hear.

"Come on Tirren. You implied there was more to it than just Savron's metamorphoses. Otherwise you would have left out the 'it was' part."

Tirren sighed and put the book down. "Fine. I was curious about how Convexity worked. The magic teachers bring it up constantly but they never go into detail about it. I want to know where it comes from, how it manifests and more importantly-"

"How to beat it."

"Yeah, exactly."

"Alright, I get it," Sleet murmured, beaming. "After all, Darius wouldn't give it to you simply because you're curious. So you mentioned Savron and…"

"I didn't lie, Sleet, I do want this to help Savron," Tirren huffed and glared down at the younger drake. "But I'm also curious about it too."

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Sleet waved a paw to dispel the tension in her gaze. "I get it. Don't worry."

They returned to reading, each scanning the pages for something of interest. After a long lapse of time Tirren glanced up to Sleet and spoke.

"So I hear you aced the combat training exam, Sleet. How was it?"

"Oh, well, um," the three horned ice drake quickly put the book down. "It was hard, honestly. And I would never say I 'aced it.' I passed that's all."

"But you did it by yourself this time. That's quite impressive."

Sleet rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly. "Well, I guess I did. Lyrith didn't help me train this time around. But I did still follow his suggestions from last time."

"Even still Sleet, good for you. You're really improving," Tirren grinned confidently.

"Well, uh, I heard you received nearly perfect scores on Magical History, Draconic Lore and Magical Theory, Tirren. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is," Tirren said with a beam of pride. "I worked my tail off on those exams but I managed it. I need to improve a bit on my Arcane Mathematics and my Crystal Agriculture skills though. I didn't do as well as I could have on those."

"Well, those are very advanced techniques and it's rare for anyone to… I think I found something!" Sleet hissed and pointed to a spot in the book excitedly. Tirren slammed her own book shut and leapt over to Sleet's side. She followed the movement of his talon to a faded couple of paragraphs lower down on the page. They sat in silence as they read the passage, squinting to make it out in the dim light.

_Convexity, despite its violet appearance, is an element of darkness. Its origins are to the dimension of its namesake, Convexity, which is the void space between alternate existences. Its power is alien to our world and cannot be naturally produced unless some connection to the dimension has been previously made. Those that can make contact with Convexity however gain access to a very mutable and varied source of energy that can greatly strengthen any form of magic. However it is not an all-powerful energy source. Even this alien power has a weakness and a crippling one at that. _

_ The exact origins of Light Magic are unknown, but it is presumed that when Convexity was first introduced to the world that a balancing act occurred. In order to even out the alien intrusion upon this world the races of the world adapted to have some means of defending itself. Light magic may have existed prior to the opening of the First Gate by Hyterill but if it did its innate opposition to the darkness Convexity provided allowed it evolve to become a potent weapon against those who have been tainted by it. Light magic, in addition to its many other uses, can utterly dispel all but the most intense conjuring of Convexity and causes severe pain and agitation in those who have been touched by it. Users of Light magic are extremely rare, however, with few outside of the dragon race capable of utilizing this potent elemental magic. There are legends that speak of schools of wizards who once taught this to a few select members of the non-dragonic race. If such is true that practice has long since died out and now only the Light Dragons and Purple Dragons can wield this magic._

Tirren looked up at Sleet and smiled.

"Well it is something alright."

"Yeah. So the weakness of Convexity is Light magic," Sleet mused.

"Not all that surprised honestly. Spyro used that to banish the darkness on Savron when he first lost control."

"I guess he did. Wasn't entirely sure if that was light magic, but now it makes sense."

"Unfortunately Light dragons are nearly extinct," Tirren sighed and sat down across from Sleet.

"And even if they could help Savron, it sounds like it would cause him more pain than would be worth it."

"Yeah…"

"Well there must be something else. Let's keep looking and…"

"Did someone say my name?"

Sleet and Tirren stopped and looked towards the library entrance where a young purple dragon stood with a smirk plastered over his face. He sauntered over to them and sat down beside Tirren, grinning at the pair.

"So what are you two doing? It's a lovely morning out! Quit with the studying and let's go. We don't have classes for another month!"

Tirren rolled her eyes and scooted her cushion so that she was further away from Savron.

"We're doing research into Convexity. And why are you up so early Sav? Don't you normally like to sleep in?"

"I was having a bit of trouble sleeping," Savron waved a paw dismissively. "Besides, I couldn't stop thinking about you," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Tirren just reached out with a paw, grabbed his face and pushed him, causing the violet dragon to tumble back with a shout and crash into the ground.

"Not cool," he groaned, laying stunned on the stone, his paws curled up close to his chest in pain.

"I'm not interested in dealing with your silly games, Savron," Tirren huffed as she returned to her book. "If you're going to stay here, act serious and don't do stupid things like that."

"Fine," Savron set himself squarely on the cushion beside her and slumped down on the table. "So you're reading up on convexity? Why'd Darius let you take those books out?"

"I wanted them to look up some way to help you with your training," Tirren replied, not looking away from the book.

"And because she's curious about how it works," Sleet answered.

"Oh hush."

"Really? Why thank you Tirren!" Savron smiled at her broadly. "You're one of the best pals I have!"

Tirren glared at him as he started to move a wing over her back and he grudgingly backed off.

"You're welcome," she said finally, once his wing was back in its proper place.

"Though, you really don't need to concern yourselves," Savron said with a prideful smirk. "I'm doing fantastic with mom and dad's training! I can regain control in seconds now!"

"I doubt that," Tirren huffed, looking up to him from her book. "Because it says here that it takes years for anyone to gain control of a full convexity transformation."

"Phh, what do they know? Did they have to do training for it? Not likely!" Savron laughed. "Besides, my parents had mastered control of it after hardly any time at all! And they're teaching me how to use it just as good as them. There's nothing to worry about!"

Tirren looked over to Sleet who shrugged. Neither of them had ever been to one of Spyro's or Cynder's sessions with Savron themselves so they had to take his word for it. But if Tirren's experience with Savron in other lessons was anything to go by, she doubted it was going as well as he said it was.

"If you say so, Sav," Tirren sighed and gave a small shrug as she picked up another book. Savron stopped her and shook his head with a smile.

"Can't we just put these away for a while and go and enjoy the day together? Being stuck in a dark library hunched over books all day can't be good for you."

Tirren started to argue, but soon found herself out in the hall outside of the library anyway, Savron having somehow managed to convince them to go with him. The crisp morning air dulled in the warmth of the slowly blooming horizon. Savron took a deep breath and smiled.

"Ah. Nothing better than a morning stroll, right?"

"Well," Sleet coked his head. "I'm pretty sure a morning fly is better, though I'd personally find a nice juicy steak more enjoyable, or getting perfect on a test, or…"

Savron groaned. "Okay I get it! Fine! Seriously it's like all you do is complain or criticise me!"

"Maybe if you stop projecting onto us then we'll stop complaining," Tirren suggested, giving him a smarting smile. "Just because we're with you doesn't mean we agree with your opinion."

Savron shook his head, dismayed. "I should never have gotten the two of you to come out with me…"

"Good. Now you know how I felt," Tirren giggled, triumphant. They continued their stroll, plodding through the soft, dew drenched grass of the gardens to a massive slab of stone often used as a table. They settled down by the table and Savron pulled out a small cloth package from his satchel and set it down on the table. He unwrapped it to reveal a bundle of steak sandwiches and turkey legs.

Tirren glanced up at him suspiciously. "What's this?"

"A picnic bundle."

"And you just happened to have that at the ready hm?"

Savron gave her a flat stare. "Tirren, if I was trying to sneak a date with you, I wouldn't have brought Sleet along," he gestured to the small azure dragon who had already grabbed a slice of sandwich and was stuffing it down his face. "It's my breakfast."

"Oh… sorry," Sleet mumbled, hearing the last part. He put the remaining quarter of his sandwich back on the cloth. Savron snorted and waved his paw.

"Don't worry about it. You guys can have some."

Sleet had the remainder of the sandwich in his muzzle almost before Savron finished. Shaking her head Tirren looked back to Savron, eye-ridge raised. "So why did you bring us out here then?"

"Presumably to enjoy the view, fresh air and sunrise. I don't always have an ulterior motive," Savron shrugged. Then he grinned and gave Tirren a wink. "Though, if you want there to be…"

Savron picked himself up off of the ground a moment later, nursing his stomach and giving Tirren a dirty look.

"I was joking! You really don't have a sense of humour at all, do you?"

"I do, which is why I don't find you funny."

"Hardy har," Savron rolled his eyes. He was about to say more when he froze, his gaze fixing on something behind Tirren. The violet dragon's muzzle fell open and he quickly moved to hide behind some bushes. Tirren glanced back and blinked in surprise. A beautiful blue ice dragoness had just stepped out into the garden and was looking around. Her face was covered by a silk mask of the same colour as her sapphire scales, but was embroidered with silver and gold designs.

"Is that…" Sleet murmured, staring wide eyed as well.

"That's Wintra," Savron gestured for them to join him in the bushes.

"When did she get back?" Tirren swallowed hard.

"Last week I think," Savron hissed, craning his neck around in the bushes to watch Wintra more carefully. "Her parents finally let her come back after… the convexity incident."

Tirren glanced down at Savron grimly, noticing the guilt and terror in his face. Then she saw Wintra turn and start towards them. Everyone froze as Wintra's blue eyes settled on them. She turned and hastened the opposite way, bowing her head so they couldn't see her mask. Savron sighed uneasily and returned to his meal unenthusiastically. Tirren let out a breath of relief, glad that no confrontation had occurred, but could not help casting her gaze back to where Wintra had stood, unable to banish the weight in her chest.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, none willing to broach the topic on all of their minds. Finally Savron stood up and packed the cloth away.

"Well, I should get going. Mom wants me to come in early for the training and I should probably be there by now. Though, after that I don't suppose you'd be willing to go on an adventure with me?"

"Maybe, depends on where," Tirren stood up as well.

"There's an old tunnel system I found under Darrowlight a while back. It looks like it's big enough to have something of interest in there. Want to come?"

Tirren and Sleet glanced at one another and then shrugged. "Sure, sounds good."

"Great! Meet me on balcony five in the Grand hall. And tell the others about it too, if you see them," Savron skipped back to the Temple with a smirk, giving them one last wave before he disappeared from view. Tirren smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I hope I don't regret this like last time we went with him on one of these 'adventures.'"

"Don't worry too much about it, Tirren. I'm sure it'll be great this time!" Sleet said as he strode after Savron. "Anyway, I'm going to go catch up on some reading. Talk to you later!"

Tirren waved after him, nodding in agreement. Then she sat down and sighed once more. Tirren looked to the spot she'd last seen Wintra, uneasy. She sat for a long moment, contemplating, then shook her head and returned to the Temple, trying to forget about her thoughts.

* * *

Typhous sighed as the knocking at his door grew more insistent, the grey dragon throwing his scarf around his neck. "I said I shall be with you in a moment! Please calm yourself!"

It was late in the morning and Typhous had only just risen, having been awoken by a ferocious knocking at his door. The only reply he'd gotten from calling out was more knocking, and the sound had started to pound achingly around Typhous' tired skull. Typhous muttered grumpily to himself he straightened his scarf and clamped the bells to his horns. Then stamped over to the door to see who was knocking.

He struggled around the huge table and seats that sat in the center of his room and around the glass cupboard of his personal treasures. He idly picked up a fallen book and placed it back on his bookshelf as he came to a halt by the door, which he opened with a grumble.

"I swear to the ancestors this had better be important, or I'm going… I'm going to do something nasty!" Typhous muttered to himself as he gripped the handle of his door and pulled it open. "What do you wa…" Typhous started, only for his muzzle to fall open. He let out a gasp as his father, Aephion, grabbed him and yanked him into a huge hug, crushing Typhous against his chest.

"There you are, Son! What were you doing sleeping in so late today! Don't you know that's bad for you?"

Typhous squirmed out of Aephion's embrace and staggered back a few steps to escape another hug attempt.

"Father? What are you doing here?" Typhous gulped down lungful's of air.

Aephion laughed and slapped Typhous on the back. "What? Didn't you get my letter? I've been reassigned here to protect the Temple. After the attack last year the Five, er, Six kings felt it necessary to increase security here."

"Oh."

"Also, with the Feran dignitaries arriving to oversee the training of the new Guardian of Fear, it was felt that some protection would be in order to ensure their safety. Really son, have you been sleeping that long?"

Typhous sighed and smiled weakly as Aephion nudged him jokingly with a wing.

"So I take it that means you're going to be living here?"

"Of course it does. What part of reassignment did you not understand?"

"Well, that's great news!" Typhous said with a clenched smile. "It'll be great to have you around, dad. Anyway, it's probably time I go for lunch, so…"

"I shall accompany you. I do need a tour of the place after all. It's been years since I came here myself, so I could use some assistance."

"It'll be my pleasure," Typhous sighed. The young grey dragon stepped out of his room and turned towards the nearby kitchen, his four horned head drooped in defeat. Aephion didn't seem to notice and gazed about the Temple with interest. Typhous arrived at the kitchen and filled up a plate of leftover lunch, Aephion following suit, nodding to the passing students as he stacked up his small plate.

The kitchen was a huge room filled with dozens of tables and hundreds of cushions for the dragons to sit upon. A massive buffet table dominated the center of the room, where the many students of the Temple gathered for their meal. Off to the side feline, canine and dragonic servants brought in more dishes from the ovens to replace the empty trays.

"So, will you be acting as general from the Temple from now on, or are you leaving those duties behind for now…"

"I can act as general from here," Aephion shrugged and took a bite of chicken. "Though my position in Warfang has been replaced, for now at least. Anyway how did you do in your exams? Did you ace it buddy?"

"I got high grades, yes."

"Excellent! I bet you're one of the top students here by now!"

"Well, no but…"

"Oh don't say that about yourself! Of course you are!" Aephion laughed. Then he looked around, smirked and turned back to Typhous with a wink. "I couldn't help but notice there's a lot of good looking dragonesses around here. How many of them have you been with, huh?"

Typhous blushed furiously and his muzzle fell open as he struggled to find something to say to that.

"Oh don't give me that look," Aephion chuckled, slapping Typhous on the shoulder. "You're a good looking dragon, so you shouldn't be ashamed of that sort of thing!"

Typhous looked around, his face still flushed. Nearly all of the students in the kitchen were staring at them, watching with amusement as Aephion continued on about how Typhous should have gotten a girlfriend by now, as it was only natural for a dragon his age to do so. Typhous ate in silence as Aephion talked, doing his best to ignore the stares of those around him.

"Mm, you there, albino, can you get me some more of the turkey?" Aephion called out over the crowd. Typhous looked up to see who he was talking to and froze, his eyes flying wide as he saw Lyrith turn to face them, the white dragon's eyes ablaze.

"What did you just say?" Lyrith demanded, slamming his plate down and approaching Aephion. Aephion's amused smile vanished, to be replaced by a cool glare.

"Did you not hear me the first time? I want some more turkey. Go fetch it for me."

Typhous jumped up as Lyrith opened his muzzle to snarl back, cutting both off. "Dad! Lyrith isn't a servant; he's a fellow student and a friend!"

Aephion glanced between Typhous and Lyrith, puzzled for a moment. "Oh. I see. You must be the albino student I've heard all those rumours about. It is a pleasure to meet you," Aephion extended a paw out in greeting. Lyrith looked down at the paw but did not take it.

"Um… Father, I just remembered that Lyrith and I were going to go visit Igneous today. I hear he's caught a flu or something and we wanted to check and see if he's alright," Typhous got up quickly and pushed his plate in front of Aephion. "You can have my lunch. I'll meet up with you later, okay?"

"Does it have to be now?" Aephion frowned. "We only just met up and I wanted to…"

"Yes, it does. Sorry father," Typhous stood and walked over to the confused and still angry Lyrith. "Follow my lead," Typhous hissed into his ear as he turned to the door and exited quickly. Lyrith glared at Aephion one last time before following.

Typhous sighed in relief once they were out of the kitchen and turned to Lyrith.

"Sorry about father. He's very traditional in his views and usually doesn't know better."

Lyrith snorted and glanced back at the door. Then he turned back to Typhous, raising an eye ridge. "So, are we really going to check up on Igneous?"

"We might as well," Typhous shrugged as he turned down the hall towards Igneous' room. "I meant to go visit anyway, after I heard about it. So now is a good a time as any."

"Fine. I don't have anything better to do anyway," Lyrith shrugged and followed in Typhous' steps. There was silence between them for a moment, both walking in stride. Typhous finally spoke, melting the silence away.

"So… how's your first full year at the Temple been?"

"Pretty good."

"I'll admit it wasn't much of a change for me. Well, other than the quality of the teaching. The private school I went too tended to coddle me, especially considering who my father was. Here, well, I get to earn my victories. How about you? Compared to your school what's the Temple like?"

Typhous gave Lyrith a smile and waited. Lyrith turned his head away and remained silent, acting like he hadn't heard the question. Typhous sighed and turned back to the hall, dropping the attempts at conversation.

Ember answered the door and beamed down at the two cheerfully.

"Are you here to see Igneous! Great, he's been hoping for some visitors. Come in, come in!"

The two stepped into the colourfully decorated room and passed the large couches. They followed Ember over to Igneous' room, where she knocked on the door and chirped out that he had some visitors.

"Who is it mom?" he asked, his voice weak through the door.

"Typhous and Lyrith, dear," Ember glanced back at the two and smiled.

"Oh, great! Let them in!"

Ember pushed open the door and the pair strolled in, looking around. Neither had been in his room many times before, so the sight of his semi-messy room was a novelty. Trinkets and toys were scattered about the floor, not in the way of anything but noticeably out in the open. His curtains hung astray and the window sill was stacked with books half read. His desk was clean save for the leather backed book lying open atop it, ink splotches dotting the surface of the table. Igneous himself lay on a bed of plush cushions, a blanket thrown over his large body. A bowl of water filled with ice sat by his bed along with a heavy text open for him to read.

Igneous waved them over, rising off of his bed so he was sitting upright. He pulled the blanket back around him as he started shivering uncontrollably.

"Hey guys," he murmured, his voice low. "Thanks for dropping by. What're you here for?"

"We just wanted to see how you were doing," Typhous said with a shrug.

"Oh, thanks. The only visitor I've gotten today was Savron. Tirren dropped by yesterday but it seems like everyone's too busy for me lately."

"No problem," Typhous said with a smile. "What was Savron here for? He's usually not the visiting type."

"He was telling me about the adventure he'd been planning for today," Igneous chuckled. "He was hoping I was feeling well enough to go but… even if I could mom wouldn't let me."

"He's got an adventure planned? He hasn't told us about that yet."

"Really? Well he did tell me where it was, in case I felt better. I'm sure he'd love for you two to go though."

Lyrith smirked. "I bet he would. I haven't been on one of them for a while now."

"Alright, well, go to balcony five in the Grand hall in about…" Igneous glanced out the window. "Three hours? Yeah, three hours."

"Thanks, Igneous," Typhous gave him a large grin. "I appreciate it."

Lyrith nodded his agreement.

"Anyway, how have you two been doing?"

"Well…"

The three chatted for a long while, Igneous and Typhous doing most of the talking and Lyrith only occasionally joining in. After roughly half an hour the pair rose, Typhous saying that they've taken up enough of his resting time and that they should be going. Igneous waved them goodbye as the pair left. Once outside the two looked at one another, not sure what to do next.

"So, is there anything you have to do at the moment?" Typhous glanced around the hallway.

"I don't…" Lyrith started, only for his eyes to widen. He slapped a paw to his head and he groaned. "I almost forgot. I was going to meet with Voltlyn."

"Oh, are you too late?" Typhous asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I'll meet you at the balcony," Lyrith snorted and rushed back to the kitchen. Typhous watched him go until the white drake vanished and then he sighed. The grey dragon turned and made his way back to his room, wondering if he should go searching for his dad before he could do any more damage.

* * *

The kitchen slowly emptied back out into the hallways, with Tirren leading the way. She ignored the mundane banter of the students behind her and sought a seat by one of the open windows to enjoy the view outside. It was high noon out and the summer air was clear and clean. Tirren smiled, closing her eyes to soak up the sunlight for a moment, before she gazed about in search of something to do.

"I suppose Savron's done his training by now," Tirren sighed. "So I should probably go check-up and…"

"There you are, Tirren," a deep, rumbling voice reverberated behind her. Tirren jumped and turned to face the speaker, quickly bowing.

"Master Terrador! You startled me!"

"I'm quite sorry, Tirren. I suppose I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. Regardless, I wish to speak with you," Terrador smiled at her reaction.

"Is something the matter, Master Terrador?"

"No nothing is wrong. In fact, that's why I've sought you out," Terrador placed a heavy paw on her shoulder. "Please, come with me. This is a private matter I wish to discuss."

Tirren frowned, nodded and rose to follow the Guardian of Stone. The ancient, battle worn dragon moved with shocking grace given his girth and age. Power and authority were scribed all across his body. The students melted to the side to allow the pair through, whispering at the sight of Tirren following in tow.

Tension settled in Tirren's chest as they walked in silence together, though she knew she shouldn't be so worried. Terrador had outright said that nothing was amiss. Yet the tension remained, growing tighter as she strained herself trying to think of what he wanted her for.

Terrador came to a stop by an unoccupied study room and gestured for her to go inside. Tirren did so and sat down by the table, watching Terrador as he shut the door and turned to her.

"So, why did you bring me here?" Tirren looked around the room curiously. "Is it something about my marks? Did I do well on the exam or…"

"I wish to ask you if you would join my Guardianship program."

Tirren froze, staring at Terrador with wide eyes, stunned not only by the proposal but the bluntness of it. Terrador's muzzle twitched up into a smile and he waited for her response.

"Guardianship program? You me want… I mean, you want me to go into a Guardianship program?!"  
"Indeed I do."

Tirren stared at him speechless, before a huge grin broke over her face.

"Yes! That sounds amazing! I'd love to-"

Terrador raised a paw to silence her. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but this is not a decision you should be jumping into. Guardianship is a lifelong commitment that will risk your life and consume nearly all of your personal time."

"Oh…"

"And that is assuming you pass. This is a difficult course which will strain your skills to the limit and put pressure on the rest of your classes. Even still, I would not ask you if I did not feel you had great potential in you, Tirren."

Tirren nodded slowly, but the grin had only dimmed somewhat, warmth and strength rising in her chest.

"For this reason I want to go over some things with you before you make a choice, so that you know exactly what you will be getting into should you accept."

"I understand."

"You will soon enough," Terrador said with a smile. "Firstly, I need you to know that this is a multi-part course and one that will span several years of training for you. Secondly, I want you to know that you are not going to be the only candidate for the training."

"Really? Who else is going?"

"I'm not going to tell you, at least not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I do not want outside pressure affecting their choice. It must be something that they alone chose to do. That is why I brought you here, so that none will know and encourage a decision."

Tirren's grin faded and she nodded slowly. She supposed that made sense. If it became public knowledge that a student was a candidate for becoming a Guardian the other students would flock to either congratulate them, thereby creating a sense of duty to do join, or try and push them away from the decision out of jealousy. It also meant that potential candidates could attempt to weed out the competition before the course started.

"As for the classes themselves, it will be covering a wide range of topics, from High-Magic, to tactics and diplomacy and even learning some of the more… unsavoury parts of dragonic lore and magic theory. And be aware that this is strictly graded and most will likely fail. Only a select few will be chosen as apprentices to the Guardians, which in turn will take many more years of study and practice before one is considered ready to join our ranks."

Tirren gulped but continued nodding as he spoke, the anxiety from before returning.

"With all of that said, I do believe you are capable of becoming a Guardian, Tirren, and a wonderful Guardian at that. Your focus, determination and wit are to be admired and having you among our ranks would be a service to all of Dragonkind."

Tirren beamed, her whole body straightening at the praise. She started to open her muzzle to agree to the course, but Terrador cut her off once again.

"I don't want your answer now. This is a decision that requires time for consideration. Think it over for a week or two and then arrange a meeting with me. I will accept no decision before then."

"Alright, Master," Tirren murmured and bowed her head. "I will consider, though I'm sure I know what I want… If I may ask, is there a time limit? A day where it is too late to make the decision?"

"I need to know the day before the first classes start next semester," Terrador said, smiling. "Though I suspect most will come to me with their decisions long before then."

"And you will only reveal the identities of the students once the classes have started, right?"

"Yes. And I also request that you keep this information to yourself as well. I do not want to be approached by ambitious students or a student sponsors who think they can talk, buy or bully their way into Guardianship. This is something for the chosen alone."

Tirren bowed her head and murmured her understanding. Terrador smiled and rose, moving to the door.

"Excellent. Now, consider both the pros and cons of my offer seriously. I only want those fully invested in the idea of becoming a Guardian to take the class. Once you've done that, come and see me with either answer. It is perfectly acceptable to refuse."

Terrador slipped out of the room, leaving Tirren by herself, stunned by what had just happened to her.

* * *

"That was a lovely lunch. Thank you Lyrith."

"Don't know why you're thanking me. It was free after all."

Lyrith and Voltlyn stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallways, satisfied by their long meal together. The white dragon had only just caught the topaz dragoness as she exited the kitchen. Once together they sat alone in the kitchen and snacked on leftovers until nothing was left. With nothing left to munch on the pair headed out into the Temple to look for something else to do.

"I mean thank you for, um, for staying to eat with me," she smiled, looking down from the proud white dragon and out into the grounds below.

"Oh," Lyrith said, his brow furrowed. "You're... welcome?"

Voltlyn giggled under her breath, too quietly for Lyrith to hear.

"Anyway, what have you been doing lately? I haven't seen much of you since the exams."

"I've mostly been doing some painting for the clients Typhous sends my way. I'm finally starting to get enough to pay back mom's debt."

"That's great," Lyrith gave a strained smile, his sharp fangs bared in a real, but unsure grin.

"Yeah. And mom's been adapting to the life here as well. Being away from Charah's casinos is doing her good."

Lyrith nodded sagely, his red gaze turned to the hallway ahead of them.

"How about you?" Voltlyn inquired.

"Alright."

"Anything else?"

Lyrith grunted and told her that that was all that he had to say. Voltlyn considered pushing a bit more but decided against it.

"So your duel with Thunder is coming up…"

"Yeah, it is."

"Do you think you can take him?"

Lyrith chuckled and nodded his head. If he could defeat Thunder once he could do it again. A year's time wouldn't change that. Voltlyn nodded at that, but watched him with concern regardless. As much as she wanted to trust the confidence in his face she knew better. She was sure he was worried, even if he himself didn't realize it. He'd fallen unconscious during their last battle and won only through a cloudy, berserk fury born from an intense survival instinct. And since Thunder knew what to expect from Lyrith now, Voltlyn knew there would be no quarter given.

"If you say so," Voltlyn forced a smile to try and show her confidence in him. Lyrith simply stared straight ahead, not seeming to notice her smile. They were silent, neither speaking for the longest time. Then, abruptly Lyrith turned to her, an eye ridge raised.

"Savron's doing an adventure today. Would you like to come with us?"

Voltlyn hesitated for a moment, falling back a step. Lyrith stopped to turn to her, expression curious.

"Oh, yes!" Voltlyn beamed. "I'd love to go! I wanted to all those other times, but I was always so busy. When are we going?"

"I think we're supposed to meet him at balcony five soon. We should probably head up there."

"Alright, lead the way!"

The pair resumed their walk and headed up the steps. They had just reached the third floor when they saw Typhous making his way down the hall past them. Lyrith jogged to catch up, the wind dragon turning to smile to them as they approached.

"Lyrith, Voltlyn. How good of you to come. I take it you want to come on the adventure as well Voltlyn?"

"Yeah," the topaz dragon bowed her halo horned head in agreement. "By the way, thank you again for all of the help, Typhous. I have so many commissioners now that I scarcely have time to work on them."

"No problem at all," the grey dragon said with a grin.

"So, where's the balcony?" Lyrith asked, his red eyes searching the doors along the right side of the hall.

"I believe that is it up ahead," Typhous gestured to a door a fair ways up the hall. Lyrith nodded at that and resumed walking, Typhous and Voltlyn falling into step behind him. They stepped up to the door and came to a stop, Lyrith rapping on the thick wooden frame with a clenched paw.

"Who's that?" Savron called from the other side of the door.

Lyrith smirked, pushed open the door and stepped inside without replying. Inside sat Savron, Sleet and Tirren who were all huddled over the large central table. Lyrith nodded to each of them, but lingered especially long on Savron's incredulous stare.

"Lyr? Ty? Voltlyn? How did you know?"

"Why? Did you not want us to join you?" Lyrith sat down across from the purple dragon and give him a wicked smirk. Voltlyn sat down beside him and Typhous took a spot by Tirren.

"Well, no… I mean, yeah I'm glad you're here; I'm just surprised is all. After your first adventure with us I thought you weren't interested in going anymore…"

"I just needed some recovery time," Lyrith huffed and examined his chipped talons. "It takes a while to thaw your anger after having half your face frozen."

Savron chuckled nervously. "Yeah… sorry about that. Promise it won't happen again. Anyway, I'm glad to see the two of you here."

"It's our pleasure," Typhous said with a bow of his head. "And Igneous told us, to answer your previous question."

"Oh. So he's not coming?"

"Unfortunately not."

Savron sighed and then shrugged. "Oh well, hopefully he's not sick next time."

"Yeah," Tirren sagged slightly.

"So, are you going to tell us what we're doing?" Lyrith leaned back against a wall as he ground his claws against the stone floor. "Because we only just got here."

"Alright, good point," Savron slapped his paws down on the table in the center of the balcony. "So our current plan is to investigate the tunnel system under Darrowlight that I found two weeks back. I'm fairly certain that nobody's been down there, since I found the entrance behind some broken concrete. It looks like it leads into the remains of some of the buried houses that sank into the marshland. That means it should be completely unexplored and filled with all sorts of neat stuff. It shouldn't be too dangerous since, well, I doubt any Darrowlight citizens kept anything particularly dangerous as pets. There might be some big bugs or something but nothing big. Sound good with all of you?"

Lyrith grunted, with Tirren, Voltlyn and Sleet hesitantly following suit. Typhous tapped his chin with a claw thoughtfully, before nodding his understanding

"Great! So, I've got some basic gear with us here," Savron pulled out a small sack and opened it. "A couple spare life and energy crystals. All the bandages I could sneak out of the clinic. Two dispelling draughts I made in my sorcery class two years back. I'm pretty sure they'll still be good… and aside from some food that's it."

"No armour?" Tirren asked, looking up from the pile of supplies and giving Savron a hard stare.

"Couldn't afford to swipe any for this trip," Savron shrugged. "Besides, it's not like there'll be any cursed apes down there. Like I said, sunken Darrowlight houses."

"I guess…"

"Good, so, if that was the only objection," Savron looked around to see if there were more. Nobody spoke up. "Then each of you will take some of the supplies and we'll be off. I'll carry the sack for any special stuff we find along the way.

Lyrith rose and took the pouch of life crystals and the dispelling draughts, packing them away in his own satchel. The rest grabbed something for themselves and, once everything was away, glided down from the balcony into the Grand Hall. They strode through the front gates, Savron commenting that they were just going down to get some books to the guards. They flew down to the eastern side of the bustling village and settled by some rickety old houses close to the Mushroom Forest. Savron led them around and down one of the cellar doors of the house, which was unlocked and unfurnished. He explained that the house was foreclosed due to structural problems and so it wasn't intruding, which pacified most of his friends. He came to a stop by a big crack in the concrete wall and placed a paw on it. He shone bright green for a few seconds as he melted the stone away from the crack, to reveal a huge tunnel leading down into the darkness.

Savron turned to the others with a huge grin and gestured for them to follow him inside.

**Dardarax's Characters**

Lyrith, Savron, Tirren, Sleet, Voltlyn, Typhous, Igneous

Aephion

Wintra

Thanks once again to Rurik-Redwolf and GoldenGriffiness for their help in editing. =)

Writing's been a bit slow for me lately. What with me settling into my apartment life, signing back up for University and my renewed addiction to Skyrim I can barely focus on writing. Still I'll be forcing myself back to hard work now that chapter 2 has been posted. And once I've gotten some sleep. I've waited far too long to post this one up tonight. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chap. Sorry, I'm not in a very funny mood right now, so I'm not doing many jokes down here like I usually try to. XD

Next Chap will be up on July 19th


	3. Fresh Blood

Chapter 3: Fresh Blood

By Dardarax

_Disclaimer__: I, Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Dragon Temple, Warfang or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. Don't look up; whatever you do don't look up. I do, however own my own characters whose names are listed at the bottom._

The smoke cleared revealing the carnage the fireball left in its wake. The guardsmen lay broken and scorched upon the mountain rocks; the few survivors screaming in agony. From behind a large rock a big red dragon poked out his head to survey the destruction, his golden eyes wide. He stared at the shrieking soldiers, unable to tear his gaze away. He jumped as a hacking cough emanated nearby. Emerging from the curtain of smoke left in the fireball's wake was a hooded figure who waved a gloved hand in front of his face to clear the smog away. He peered about at his handiwork and let out a low chuckle. Leaning heavily on his crystal topped staff, the purple clad sorcerer yanked out the arrow from his thigh, barely even making a noise as he did so.

"Impressive ambush, my friends," he cackled as he approached the fallen dragons and felines. "But your aim was sloppy and your evasive techniques predictable. This would have proven a valuable lesson for you, but I doubt you'll be ever trying that again," the sorcerer turned to the red dragon and waved him over, his red-orange eyes burning under his cowl. The red dragon did so, eyeing the charred corpses with disgust.

"Apprentice! Would you please aid me in disposing of the remaining bodies? If the guards from the town have tracked us all the way up here, then we cannot afford to leave any more traces for them to follow."

The red dragon glanced down at the bodies and his grimace widened. "I'd rather not."

Jaxar sighed, rolling his eyes. "Torch, you're not going to get very far as a dark wizard if you don't learn how to handle scorched bodies. Come come, help me toss them down the side of the cliff."

Reluctantly Torch obeyed, helping the humming sorcerer heave the bodies off of the mountainside. Torch grimaced in disgust as the charred flesh broke away under his claws. The effort it took to keep from being ill was momentous, the bile in Torch's throat a constant threat. It took them close to ten minutes to clear the majority of the carnage away. Torch slumped back, scrubbing his paws clean relentlessly as Jaxar approached the last body. The sorcerer grabbed the female cheetah's arm and paused. Jaxar frowned and placed a finger on her neck.

"Hm… this one is still alive and in quite good shape," he mused, looking the feline over. "Unconscious but she'll live."

"So what? Aren't you just going to kill her anyway?"

Jaxar glanced up at Torch and smiled. "No, no I'm not."

"What?"

Jaxar turned to the unconscious feline and murmured an incantation. He drew a glowing purple rune on the back of her neck as he chanted. Torch watched suspiciously, wondering what his master was doing. After inscribing several more such runes, Jaxar rose, dusted his hands off on his robe and looked around at the rest of the bodies.

"Leave this one here for now."

"But didn't you say…"

"I have plans for this one, do not worry. She will pose no problem for us."

Torch grumbled but did not argue. He wished Jaxar wouldn't leave him in the dark so often. With the last of the bodies gone, Jaxar turned away from the cliff and flipped back his cowl to wipe away the sweat that had formed. A grimace twisted his already malformed face, causing his drooping whiskers to quiver. The wispy black fur barely covered the thin lavender scales of his face, and tiny horns poked out of his skull in asymmetrical directions. Jaxar shook his head to clear it and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air, smiling. Torch moved up beside him, avoiding looking directly at Jaxar's face.

"We're only a short distance from our new home, Torch," Jaxar started back up the slope. "So don't fall behind!"

"What exactly is this Crossroads of Salvation anyway?" Torch demanded as they made their way up the crags. "You keep saying it'll be our new base but you never explain what it is or how a 'crossroad' can be a home!"

Jaxar ignored Torch's complaint and continued to whistle tunelessly as he led the way. Frustrated, Torch fell silent, muttering obscenities under his breath. During the few days he'd been apprenticed to Jaxar he'd already grown to despise his seemingly care-free attitude. Torch was certain it was a sham, probably done simply to infuriate him further as some sort of absurd test. He was sure that a great many of Jaxar's, if that was even his real name, actions of late were those. Indeed, he wondered if their first encounter in the flooding cave during the massive storm was a test as well. Maybe Jaxar created the storm? With the power he'd been displaying during their ascent, Torch wouldn't put controlling weather past his capabilities.

Torch shook the paranoid thoughts from his head as they hit a difficult patch of mountain rock, having to focus on not falling to his death.

"Why aren't we flying? Surely you can use wind magic to get yourself up there! And I have bloody wings!" Torch flared his wings for emphasis.

Jaxar laughed, turning back to him. "It's a common mistake for wizards and dragons of all kinds to not properly exercise their legs, my apprentice. When the day comes that you cannot call upon your magic or use your wings, you'll thank me for giving you the foresight to have strong legs for running!"

Torch groaned but kept his bitter comments to himself. He knew better than to call Jaxar out for this, he'd either get no response back, a mocking laugh or, worse yet, another lecture.

"_Is becoming a dark wizard even worth all this effort?"_ Torch thought to himself moodily. _"I thought black magic was the easy route to power?"_ then the red dragon remembered their goal and immediately brightened. _"The day that I have my claws around the neck of that bitch Voltlyn and her white rat will be worth a thousand scaled mountains."_

The thought of ripping out the throats of the pair that got him banished caused Torch to shiver in pleasure. He'd lost everything because of them, from his position of royalty to his place among his family and even his promising ascent to Guardianship. And until Jaxar came around he'd had nothing but the drive to not die cold in a cave. Now he had a new path set out before him, one that promised far more than anything the Temple could offer.

Torch nearly bumped into Jaxar, who had stopped abruptly in front of a small cave entrance. Jaxar glanced back at him with an amused expression and Torch pretended that nothing had happened.

"We are here."

Torch stiffened, excited and then looked deep into the cave.

"I don't see anything special."

"I apologize. We are here as in we are at the doorstep to the Crossroads. It is still a ways inside."

Torch groaned and settled on his haunches.

"We don't have time for rest now, Torch. Once we are inside you can rest and eat," Jaxar stepped into the cave, the faint glow of the large egg shaped violet crystal on his staff the only thing that kept Torch from losing his way. Torch followed wearily after, jogging to keep up. The cave was surprisingly wide inside and the stone floor worn, as if tread by tens of thousands of paws or smoothed by an endless flood of water. There was nary a sound of dripping water, nor a squeak of bats fluttering about the cave; just the clunk of wood meeting stone. After what seemed like quarter an hour the pair emerged into a massive chasm. Torch's muzzle fell open as be beheld the sight far below.

Rising up from the darkness was a gargantuan, ruined palace. Towering spires lay shattered, with the broken remnants just barely visible at the bottom of the chasm. Great rifts were visible in the ancient stonework where tectonic pressure must have ripped at the now buried citadel. Torch looked up at Jaxar, his muzzle still agape.

"This is the Crossroads of Salvation?"

"It is," Jaxar laughed. "A wondrous sight is it not? Even more so, if you know its history."

Stammering, Torch asked him what he meant.

"You see, my apprentice, this is The Grand Temple. Or The First Dragon Temple. It was here that the head Guardians of all Dragon Temples everywhere would gather to discuss the fate of the Dragon race. It was the hub where the greatest dragonic figures of history and legend would meet, plan and worship together. For that reason it was dubbed 'The Crossroads of Salvation' for it was the center, the heart of the dragon race."

Torch could not find words to speak, processing what Jaxar had just told him.

"Indeed, many of the most fateful decisions Dragonkind ever made were made here. The war against the Griffons, the alliance with the moles, the enslavement of the apes and even the decision to teach Malefor."

"Then why is it here?"

"It was buried as the last act of vengeance when Malefor was slain during his first rise to power. He captured the Grand Temple with his army of apes and the Head Guardians all came here to do battle with him. Right as they slew him he collapsed the mountain and buried the Temple, to ensure they could not escape with their lives. From then it was lost, with none able to reach it. New Temples were built and its location forgotten."

"Well how did you know…"

"It was only uncovered again during Malefor's second coming as the apes, directed by Malefor, uncovered it to use as a hub and fortress for his army. They activated many of the dormant portals and with captive moles opened many buried passages so that the armies could invade with impunity areas that were thought untouchable. It was how they were able to locate many of the hidden Temples, infiltrate the greatest of cities and demolish the dragon race from within," Jaxar chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it? The place that was once the salvation of the dragon race was used as the tool to bring about its near annihilation."

Torch nodded slowly, following Jaxar as he made his way down the carved stone steps to the Temple below.

"And this place will be our home?" Torch continued to gaze at the Grand Temple with open awe.

"Yes. Like the Dark Master we will use this place to marshal our armies in secret and strike out at places from seemingly nowhere. It will be a fitting palace for your majesty, once you have reclaimed your kingdom."

Torch beamed, an eager blaze kindled in his chest. They finally stepped down from the staircase onto the mighty bridge that spanned across the chasm. They walked towards the massive doors of the Grand Temple, the light of Jaxar's staff glowing brighter to light their way. They were just nearing the entrance Torch stopped, an idea striking him.

"Jaxar, if this was an ape stronghold, might there be cursed apes within?"

Jaxar paused and planted his staff firmly on the ground and eyed the structure before him.

"There very well could be, Torch. Excellent point. Though I suspect my friend inside will have cleared it of most of the cursed ones by now. I do not doubt that some lurk in the darker corners of this place."

"You have a friend here?"

"Indeed. Pandora and I agreed to meet here once she had found our other allies. I unfortunately was unable to hold up my end of the plan, but she will understand why. She is more than patient enough to see it through."

"You mean she was involved in your plan to become a baron of Grasbronda?" Torch asked suspiciously.

Jaxar blinked. "Yes. She wanted a place in that and I was going to give her it. When I explain to her our plan she will see that with you much greater things will be accomplished."

"I see… good," Torch relaxed and nodded in understanding.

"Now then, shall we enter?"

Torch led the way in, with Jaxar following close behind. The interior of the Grand Temple was every bit as majestic as the exterior, though much of it was coated in thick strands of cobwebs and dust. At nearly every turn Torch swore to himself that he had seen or heard something skitter about in the dark. Behind him Jaxar muttered to himself, trying to remember at what room they had agreed to meet.

"Ah yes! It must have been the scrying room!" Jaxar exclaimed. He turned and bustled down the hall, forcing Torch to hurry after him.

"The what room?"

"The room with the pool of visions! Did you learn nothing in magical theory?"

"I did but we never covered…"

"Never mind that. It's not far from here."

Jaxar threw open the door and strode in, his red orange eyes gleaming. The scrying room was meticulously clean compared to the rest of the palace, with furniture set up about the circular chamber and the walls completely free of dust. Lying on a table was a gorgeous female lion, clad in a green tunic and trousers. She sat up as Jaxar entered and beamed, bolting towards him and giving him a huge hug.

"Jaxy! You're finally here! I missed you so much!" she gave the sorcerer a huge kiss. He smiled wanly and gave her a stiff pat on the back before gently pushing her away. She started to say something else, but her eyes shot up to his staff and she frowned, glancing around. She noticed Torch and her frown deepened.

"Alas I have bad news, Pandora," Jaxar sighed, sitting down at a chair and gesturing for her to do it as well. "My plot with the Prince of Ferans fell through. I was unable to slay him to make a name for myself and was branded a traitor. I am unable to give you that position of power that you wanted so badly."

Pandora stared at him for a moment, her brows knitted together and then she sagged back in her chair, mouth falling open in horror.

"What? But… but you promised…"

"I know. He named me during his execution and I was unable to get my barony like I thought. But that does not mean all is lost. As I was returning to give you the bad news and seek asylum from the bounty hunters I came across this fellow dragon," Jaxar gestured to Torch. "He is a criminal like us but he's also of royal blood. He has agreed to help us gain our rightful nobility if we help him regain his kingdom and seek vengeance upon those who wronged him. I have taken him as my new apprentice and I plan on teaching him all I know so that he may regain what is rightfully his."

"How fortunate," the lioness purred as she rose from her chair to approach Torch. "And he's quite the cute one isn't he?"

Torch flushed furiously as she took his chin in her hand to examine his face. A strange feeling rose up in his chest, a mixture of disgust and something he did not want to think about. He did his best to suppress it before he acted on it, but it became harder and harder to resist as she stared into his eyes. Finally she turned away to look back to Jaxar.

"Though I do miss your old apprentice. I was so looking forward to getting to know him better. Whatever happened to him?"

"Unfortunately he was slain during the revolt I stirred," Jaxar gripped his staff tightly. "And he was such a fine apprentice too. He was everything I wanted," Jaxar glanced over to Torch and then revised his statement. "Almost everything I wanted in one."

"Well we've had a set-back but it's one we can recover from. So I forgive you Jaxy," Pandora smiled. "So what is our plan now?"

"Y… yeah," Torch muttered as he sat down by Jaxar and avoided looking directly at Pandora. "What is our plan?"

"Firstly, if we are to form an army we need allies," Jaxar said, tapping a finger on the table. "Fortunately Pandora has been on the search for friends of ours for some time. Friends with enough power that we can gather a true army to back us."

"So we are going to find these people, correct?"

"Indeed, and I think I know who would be perfect to collect first," Jaxar sneered, turning his eyes to Pandora. "Naavortoth the Necromancer."

Torch furrowed his brow. "Isn't he the ape wizard who was slain by Flame and Ember nearly two decades ago?"

"Indeed he was," Jaxar replied, turning to Torch and smiling.

"If he's dead, how will he…"

"Do you know what a Necromancer is, Torch?"

The red dragon nodded.

"Then you should know that possessing a dead body should pose no problem for him. We just need to conjure his spirit."

"I've known where his resting place has been for quite a while," Pandora yawned, leaning back on the chair. "But since he was not going anywhere, I figured I would search for the others before informing you. His remains are located in Mt. Frosthelm."

"So that is our first destination," Jaxar groaned, getting up off of his seat. "But first I must at least begin lessons with my new apprentice. I promised to teach him dark magic after all and it would be wise to begin now that we are at our new home."

Torch perked up excitedly and grinned up at Jaxar. The sorcerer turned to Pandora and smiled. "You are welcome to join us, if you so choose."

"Not now, no. I'll be waiting here Jaxar. I'd like to discuss our plans in further detail once you are done."

"Of course. It must be quite confusing have all of this change so abruptly," Jaxar turned, heading towards one of the adjacent rooms, his staff clunking loudly on the flagstones. Torch glanced back to Pandora as he followed, swallowing and turning away when she smiled to him toothily.

Jaxar came to a stop inside a dusty study room and began to move furniture about. Once the tables and chairs were out of the way the sorcerer knelt down in the center of the room. He placed his staff to one side and carved glowing runes into the air just above the ground. Torch watched with a keen eye, trying to memorize the pattern.

"How do you do that?" he asked finally, as Jaxar neared completion of his arcane circle. "How do you make those runes appear?"

"It's a fairly basic form of magic, as you will soon learn Torch," Jaxar glanced up, finishing his magic. "One of the most basic in fact. It is how most wizards learn to will their spirit energy into a physical form. As for how I do it I will show you soon, but for now all you need to know is that I mark a small amount of my own spirit energy into the air by focusing it through my fingers."

Jaxar stood up and stepped back away from the circle and gestured for Torch to come forward and stand beside him. "Now my apprentice, we will unlock the door to convexity within you. Trace the runes I have carved with your own blood. It will bind the ritual to you and you alone."

Torch froze. "My blood? How am I supposed to possibly mark the entire thing with my own blood?"

Jaxar sighed and produced a couple of glowing red life gems from his spell pouch, placing them on the ground beside the red dragon. "When you start to feel woozy, use one of these. Now follow my instructions."

Torch looked down at the portrait of glowing sigils and gulped moving into its center. He dug a claw into the pad of one of his claws and let the blood trickle down his talon. Then he began to trace. As his bloody claw moved along the runes the light was snuffed out, to be replaced by an eerie dark red radiance. The prince was precise, despite his seemingly clumsy claws and half an hour and four life crystals later Torch stepped back, the circle complete. He looked up at Jaxar, still a fair bit tipsy from all the blood loss. Jaxar nodded approvingly and stepped up to the circle, producing a scroll. He unfurled it and with a glowing hand tore the runes from the page and lashed them about, to curl around the inside of the circle Torch had bloodied.

The ex-prince groaned. "Don't tell me I have to bloody those too."

Jaxar laughed. "Worry not. This is to conjure the last ingredient for the rite," the sorcerer produced some ground powders and gemstones, placing them down evenly about the circle. Then he began to chant, glowing lights flickering from his fingertips to ignite the inner runes. Torch shielded his eyes from a bright flash of light. He snarled and turned back, to insist Jaxar should have warned him when he caught sight of the frightened female cheetah soldier curled up in the center of the circle. Jaxar extended an arm and, before any of them could speak lashed out with binds of wind to tie the feline in place. She struggled as she was forced to lay spread eagle over the rune, whimpering in fear.

"What… what do you want with me?" she asked, struggling against the wind.

Jaxar turned to Torch. "Now for the final act that will unlock the door to convexity within you. You must sacrifice this feline upon the altar you have made and the power of her life-force will open the way."

Torch looked between the two, golden eyes open wide. The cheetah gazed back at him, wide eyes pleading and terrified. The prince hesitated, unable to speak.

"Remember, Torch. You agreed to be my apprentice. This is the only way I can grant you the power you need to reclaim your kingdom. With this you will wield the power of Convexity with greater ease than Spyro and Cynder combined could ever hope to accomplish."

Torch swallowed, muzzle suddenly dry. He looked down at the cheetah, who begged with him. "Please… please no…"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he stepped into the circle. The cheetah began struggling even harder in her attempts to escape the ephemeral bonds. Tears trickled from her eyes as Torch came to a stop over her. He looked down into her face, his golden eyes searching. Then, face stark, he placed a claw on her neck and turned away, eyes shut tight.

**Dardarax's Characters:**

Torch, Jaxar, Pandora.

Voltlyn and Lyrith

Yes, I know, this is a very short chapter. Don't worry, this is about as short as they'll get and chapter lengths this long won't happen often. Still, I felt that the content of this chapter was more than enough to stand on its own and would have more of an impact doing so, so I'm leaving it like this.

I've been managing to write through my writer's slump and I'll resume posting teasers on Deviant Art soon. =)

A special thanks to Rurik-Redwolf and Goldengriffiness for their help editing this chapter, as well as my family for their support and advice. =)


	4. Skeletons in the Wardrobe

Chapter 4: Skeletons in the Wardrobe

By: Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, the Grapefruit who replaced Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Temple or any other place or character that belongs to the Spyro Franchise. I do, however own a large host of Zombie minions who were once the characters belonging to Dardarax. Their names are listed below. _

The shadows deepened as the group of six dragons drew further into the tunnel. The light from the entrance rapidly dimmed as they filed into the depths. Voltlyn sparked electricity along her horns to help light the way.

Lyrith walked a short distance behind Voltlyn, his red eyes anxiously scanning the dark, tight walls of the tunnel. His breaths were long and deep as he tried to keep himself steady. The light of Voltlyn's electricity cast dark and ever changing shadows across the tunnel walls. Roots and moss hung from the earthen ceiling, which menaced the group of young drakes with shadows of claws and tendrils. Thick sheets of spider web barricaded their way, which Savron cleared with a short burst of fire. The light of the fire gave Lyrith a momentary respite from the oppressive darkness gathering around them.

The six walked in silence for several minutes before muddy bricks materialized in front of them, blocking their way further. Lyrith glanced over Voltlyn to watch Savron as he felt over the wall, running his paws over the filth-encrusted bricks. Then the purple dragon stepped forward and vanished through it, much to everyones' surprise. Cautiously Sleet followed after him, with Voltlyn and Lyrith close behind. The white dragon eyed the wall as they moved up to it, only to blink in amazement when the wall shifted to reveal that it was an optical illusion. It was two layers of walls partially separated to leave a passageway between them that made it appear as if it was entirely solid.

"I have no idea why that wall's like that," Savron turned to them, grinning. "Maybe it was done post sinkage, or maybe it was once a stairway or something and the wall collapsed. I don't know. Either way, it's a great sign. A lot of other explorers would have been turned back by that wall, so it's likely at least something's still here."

Lyrith gave a stiff nod and looked around the sunken building they had entered, relieved to be out of the tight tunnel. Old rotting furniture lay strewn about the room, tables and chairs fallen apart or missing parts, and the cloths moth eaten and mouldy. Plant life and cobwebs seemed to rule the room, covering or emerging from nearly every surface, despite the bricks and wood barring its way.

They spread out and shuffled through the remaining items of the room, curious to see if they could find anything useful amongst the decay. Lyrith kept close to Voltlyn as they searched, his eyes shifting to her every now and again as he brushed aside the cobwebs. He had only just started to lose himself in thought when a sound above caught his attention. The albino looked up, gasped and jumped back, just barely able to get out of the way in time. A massive centipede fell from the roof onto the spot where he had been, its talon sized pincers snapping. It wriggled its tail length body as it made toward the white again, its many legs undulating as it moved.

Lyr snarled and jumped back again to avoid the bite, only to lash forward with a claw to stamp down on the bug. All around the room the cries of his companions rung out as more of the insects emerged, pouring from holes in the roof to fall onto the dragons. All managed to avoid the ambush however, warned just in time by Lyr's snarl. Cries of disgust, fear, and shock filled the room, along with bright bursts of light, cool air, and crackling static as the panicked drakes lashed out.

The centipede Lyrith struck writhed under his paw and lashed up to bite it, sinking its mandibles into his foreleg. Lyrith hissed and raised his paws again to stomp down hard. Green goo spurted with each strike, and soon little was left of the bug save for a thick green slime and bits of carapace which clung to white dragon's forelegs. Lyrith grimaced; glad he hadn't bit down on the big bug.

Then the sounds of battle ceased, leaving only silence and the sounds of panting. A moment later Voltlyn relit her horns to reveal the insect carnage they had left in their wake. It had been a short battle, the bugs never truly standing a chance. Voltlyn turned to Lyrith, eyes widened as she noticed the goo covering him.

"Oh… um, that looks quite pleasant," she giggled through heaving breaths. Lyrith laughed in agreement, wiping the bug guts away.

"Well, I guess I was right about giant vermin," Savron laughed, slowly calming. "Though by the ancestors that was creepy."

"Was anyone hurt?" Tirren looked from one dragon to the next, concern etched across her face.

Lyrith grunted and raised his wounded forepaw. "Got bit."

The other five quickly gathered around him to gaze at the wound, eyes searching. The mandibles had left a pair of puncture marks on either side of his foreleg. Despite the pain of the injury only a small amount of blood had been drawn, which caused the rest of the group to relax.

"Well, it doesn't look bad, but we should probably clean and bandage it. Being soaked in bug guts cannot be good for it."

Sleet fished out a cloth and waterskin, saying he'd fix it.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like it's bad enough for a life gem," Lyrith grunted as Sleet washed away the guts and wrapped it about his foreleg.

"Think it might be poisonous?"

The group quieted for a moment before discussing the possibility. After nearly two full minutes of comparing knowledge on large bugs Lyrith cut in and told them that he felt fine and that they shouldn't bother. If he felt strange he'd tell them. Perturbed but satisfied the group nodded and organized themselves, Lyrith once again in the middle with Voltlyn. Having found nothing interesting they set off down a new tunnel deeper into the caves, now constantly on the look out for more insects.

They soon emerged into a ruined bunk house. The beds were toppled and rotted, with large mushrooms sprouting from some. Thick webs ran across the room, ropey strands that shone white in the light of Voltlyn's sparks. Lyrith slowed with the group, eyeing the webs suspiciously. Webs of that size couldn't have been spun by any regular spider. A flare from Savron ignited the webs and the silk strands burned away almost instantaneously. Lyrith took a step into the room along with the rest of the group and looked about at the flickering darkness. A chitter erupted all around them and a mob of huge spiders charged them, furious at the destruction of their homes.

The battle was short, the group expecting such an attack. The group charged forward with elements blazing, leaving Lyrith behind frozen in fear. The sight of the huge bugs skittering in the dark sent flashes of memory though him. A cramped cell, a twisted half panther-half-dragon face, and a vicious blood dragon tossing a sack full of paw sized spiders. One of the spiders broke away from the rest and rushed the white head on, forcing the white out of his flashback. Lyrith dipped left and right to evade their bladed forelegs. The albino struck right to sweep his tail along the line of legs, tearing through the first two with a spurt. A flurry of claws to its abdomen ended the threat. Lyr pounced on another to land astride its back. He roared and rent it asunder as it struggled to get free. Lyrith rode the spider to the ground and rolled away. He looked around for more spiders to slay but found none. So he watched as the others mopped up their own foes. His red eyes fixed on Voltlyn as she danced about a pair of the arachnids. The lash of the lightning whip in her jaws was dazzling in the darkness. The spiders fell apart into charred quarters moments later and Voltlyn came to a stop, her body heaving. She glanced at Lyrith and noticed the admiration in his gaze, which caused her to flush lightly. Lyrith turned back, to check on the others.

As with Voltlyn there was little remaining of the others' spiders; some were squashed flat or frozen in blocks of ice. Savron laughed breathlessly.

"Well, that was fun! Haven't fought a spider that big in months! I wonder if they have anything interesting trapped in their webs?"

"Probably not," Typhous grimaced as he stepped over the spider Lyrith had gutted. "And if there was you already burnt it away."

Savron sighed. "Yeah… maybe I should have thought that through… oh well, let's keep moving."

The group cast about for another exit and found one behind some of the surviving webs. The tunnels continued to lead slightly down and right, opening up to derelict buildings filled with all manner of horrifyingly large insects. The dragons easily tore through the bugs as they moved from room to room, in search of some sort of treasure. They found nothing of value save for a few minor trinkets that they picked up along the way.

Lyrith breathed deep as the group entered a particularly large building. The oppressive darkness, while still uncomfortable, put much less pressure on him. While he was beginning to feel more at peace in the tight tunnels, it was still a relief to find himself in such a large chamber. The building appeared to once have been a pottery shop, with many fallen shelves of shattered clay lying about the floor. Much of the art had survived though, with cabinets and racks of decorative vases, bowls and statuettes on display.

The group tipclawed through the dust and shards, not wanting to cut themselves on the seared clay. Savron and Typhous moved to the racks of pottery to appraise their findings, while Tirren moved off to the open door which led into the back of the shop. Lyrith, Voltlyn, and Sleet glanced at one another and decided to follow her, so that they wouldn't have to listen to Savron and Typhous bicker.

The back of the shop was wide and empty, having to be made especially large to fit the three massive furnaces into the shop. A dozen turning-wheels were placed about the chamber, many with hunks of now dry clay still on them. The four dragons slipped between the wheels, eyes cast about as they sought out more treasures to find.

A slow squeeze in his gut made Lyrith pause as the others neared the furnaces. Lyrith gazed around the room as he tried to determine what the cause of the unease was. His eyes fell to the floor. The dust was kicked up into piles in the corners, leaving most of the floor relatively clean by comparison. It was almost as if someone had… The albino's eyes flew wide and he looked to his friends to warn them, but it came too late.

Out of the furnaces burst a horde of skeletal apes, pouring out like a wave of cockroaches. Sleet and Tirren, who had been closest to the furnaces, cried out in surprise and fired a panicked barrage of magic. The front line of apes shattered as they were coated in ice and struck by bolts of stone. The cursed apes did not waver however, clambering over their fallen comrades to leap towards the two with eerie silence. The pair managed to escape being piled on as Lyrith and Voltlyn came to their rescue.

The white dragon's paw-strikes shattered the dry bones of the apes and Lyrith waded into the horde of tiny apes with a flurry of claws. The cursed ones' attention diverted to him, only for a lash of lightning to sweep them aside. Voltlyn whipped out twice more to clear the apes away from Tirren and Sleet, allowing them to escape the flank. The four hammered the horde with all their might, slowly forcing the ambush back.

Savron and Typhous burst into the room to see what was the matter, but before they could say anything a cacophonous clatter reverberated around the chamber and more small cursed apes exploded from hiding places, swarming out of vents, concealed holes, and out from under flagstones. The six fought back with claws, wind blades, and lightning but the horde kept pouring from all sides until the store was a sea of bones.

"Fall back!" Savron howled as he unleashed massive arcs of lightning into the crowd. "Fall back with me!"

With Lyrith leading the way, Tirren, Sleet and Voltlyn smashed through the wall of bones, doing their best to avoid the claws of the tiny apes. Typhous cleared the way with a gust of wind and together they charged back into the store, only to find the way out blocked off by more apes. Savron glanced around, saw another exit and bolted, the others in hot pursuit. Tirren took the rear, her bullets of stone and walls of earth halting the horde's momentum.

Lyrith ran directly behind Savron, his breath heavy. The pain of the centipede bite bad been replaced by the manly long cuts drawn across his bloody scales. From the back Lyr could just faintly make out the sound of Tirren repeating Savron's promise that there'd be no skeleton apes, but the purple ignored her, his emerald eyes focused ahead in search of the next room.

They burst into an abandoned house and Savron stopped in the middle of the room to slam his paws onto the ground. Walls of earth cut off each exit, snapping shut just as Tirren leapt through.

"What are you doing!?" the green dragoness glared at him.

"Keep the apes at bay!" Savron snapped, his eyes closed as he flashed green. The stone wall he had summoned shuddered and cracked, the apes pounding against it in waves. The five took their stances; Lyrith stepped to the front to give the others some room as they waited. The wall collapsed on the fifth shake, the skeletons gushing through. Lyrith tackled the horde head on, ducking the many claws as he proceeded to crush skulls. Behind him Tirren and Voltlyn fired precise shots over him, into the horde to push them back, while Sleet carefully spat spears of ice as he struggled to keep himself in control.

Pulses of green washed over the ground, emanating from Savron, only to return moments later. He took deep, calm breaths; the purple seemed almost ignorant of the battle behind him. Then his eyes snapped open and the wall to the right ground open.

"This way!" he shouted as he charged through the entrance. The others didn't hesitate and fell back to the entrance, abandoning their assault. The apes poured after them, halted only momentarily by the dirt walls Tirren conjured. Savron led them through the twisted halls; their desperate run hesitating occasionally as skeletal apes ambushed them from the sides in an attempt to cut them off. They finally skidded to a halt in a large chamber, though no exits could be seen. Savron pulled two stone walls up one after the other a fair distance down the long hallway, to stall the apes.

"Dammit Sav you led us to a dead end!" Tirren shouted, glaring at the purple. "I thought you were looking for a way out!?"

"I wasn't, I was…"

"A bottleneck," Lyrith snorted and turned to gaze analytically at the one entrance to the room. "A place that they can't flank us so we can focus our attacks down one pathway."

"Exactly. I couldn't find a way out so I brought us here, the one place close by with only one tunnel going through it."

The stone walls Savron created shuddered.

"Everyone get into position!"

Anxiously Sleet, Tirren, Voltlyn, and Typhous obeyed, moving alongside Savron to face the hallway. Lyrith, knowing he'd just get in the way if he tried to join in, moved to the side of the entrance way and crouched in wait of any apes that might somehow make it through the barrage. The stone walls tumbled down and the apes exploded through, charging the dragons with silent roars.

They were met with a wall of magic. Shards of stone flew alongside a frozen gale of wind and lightning to batter the oncoming horde. The front lines were obliterated and the rest forced back a pace from the force of the onslaught. The blast came again and then again as the five focused all of their elemental might down that narrow tunnel. The apes slowly advanced, the front lines disintegrating before each wave of magic. The five dragons soon took to taking turns. Savron, Tirren and Typhous launched a massive assault of stone, lightning and wind blades. Sleet and Voltlyn followed them up, showers of liquid ice and bolts of electricity allowing the first three a moment of respite. Then the purple, green, and grey dragons would take their place once again.

Lyrith was forced back a step, to avoid being frozen alive by Sleet's mass of ice or electrocuted by the storm of lightning. Chips of stone clipped his scales drawing blood, while the wind battered him against the wall. He groaned in pain but weathered the storm as he struggled to keep even one eye open through the storm to watch for apes.

The barrage slowly weakened as the minutes passed, the group's reserves of spirit energy rapidly dwindling. But still the clattering of bones could be heard in the distance. Then a massive figure shouldered its way into the room, bearing a huge iron shield to ward away the stream of magic. The colossal ape skeleton leered over the edge of the metal and raised an axe in a mockery of a warcry.

Lyrith wasted no time in tackling the skeletal ape warlord from the side. Hissing, it staggered back to reveal the remnants of the cursed ape army behind it. Lyr ducked out of the way of the ape's axe swing. His friends resumed the barrage, forcing the smaller apes back once more. The white dragon battered the ape warlord's knee with a claw to force it down, but had to duck away to avoid being decapitated. The warlord rose back up and stamped towards the five dragons, the pinpoints of green light in its eye-sockets blazing.

Desperate, Lyrith threw himself at its knees once more, this time toppling it over entirely. Furious it swung its axe again and Lyr danced away. He twirled and smacked it across the skull with his tail. It lumbered up and swung again at the albino, the axe head burying itself in the mossy dirt again and again. Lyrith thought quickly, trying to come up with a way to take the beast down. Timing his dodge he avoided another swing and then jumped onto the warlord's massive arms as it lifted its axe back up. Using the leverage and the momentum from its movement upwards to launch himself at its head. With a crack of his paw the skull of the ape warlord sailed away. The body crumbled to the ground moments later.

Lyrith hit the ground at a roll, snarling in pain as he felt his back flare up. He came to a stop in a corner of the room and watched the other five mop up the last of the cursed apes. Panting and exhausted the five nearly collapsed, the last of the apes destroyed or fled. The entire tunnel before them was filled with cracked and broken bones, the entire floor covered with three layers of the dead. Minutes passed as they all caught their breath and finally Voltlyn rose to approach Lyrith with a smile.

"That was really impressive Lyr," she sighed as she sat down next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lyrith sat up with a groan. "Just bruised."

"Are you sure?"

Lyrith explained that he wasn't in much pain and that she didn't need to worry, but she insisted that he take a life gem anyway. After some shouts from the others to just take one, he did so, moaning in relief as the last of the pain faded.

"Could you maybe give us a few magic gems here too?"

Lyrith tossed the satchel of gems over to them and they fell upon it tiredly. They munched on a few of the green gems each, emptying their entire stash with one go. Rejuvenated they got up, eyeing the bone strewn hallway with trepidation.

"Think they're all dead?" Typhous gulped.

"Cursed apes, and apes in general, aren't exactly known for their intelligence. They are far too animalistic, with only a few even remembering how to use weapons. I doubt that they, being undead, would know that playing dead would function as an effective ambush," Sleet rattled off confidently, though he too eyed the pile of bones with uncertainty.

Savron rolled his eyes and turned to the tunnel, belching out a wash of blue tinted fire which seared all the bones in the tunnel. He turned back to his disgusted friends and grinned.

"I think it's safe."

"I'm not sure I want to go down the tunnel now," Tirren grimaced.

"Me neither," Sleet nodded in agreement.

"Oh stop being such babies," Savron laughed, blowing a gust of wind to clear the smog left in the tunnel. "There, all better."

Everyone rolled their eyes but followed the purple through the tunnel, back into the system of caves. The group encountered only a few more ape skeletons as they searched the rooms and those that didn't flee were quickly dispatched. Neither did the group encounter anymore giant insects, which Sleet theorized attributed to hunting cursed apes infesting the area.

Lyr glanced about the pottery shop as they re-entered it, frowning at the sight of the torn up floors that they had left in their wake. He approached the furnaces with Sleet and peered inside, finding a layer of ash and moss at the bottom.

"So why do you think they were here?" Lyr looked over to Sleet with a raised eyeridge.

"Well," Sleet left the furnaces to investigate some of the other hiding holes. "If the moss and ash beds are anything to go by, I think this might have been a resting place for the cursed apes."

"Why would undead apes need to rest?" Tirren scoffed. "It's not like they need it."

"Theories go that when Malefor cursed the apes he left the personalities of his victims intact, so that they would suffer more," Sleet shrugged. "And if that's true then it is very likely that they would continue habits from their mortal lives. Sleeping and eating for example."

"Well if this was their resting room, wouldn't that mean they might have more?" Lyrith frowned.

"Like a place to store their valuables?!" Savron bolted up excitedly.

"Maybe…"

"Alright guys, let's get searching! It can't be far from their sleeping area!"

Savron skipped over to one of the exits and ducked through it as the others watched him with raised eyeridges. Lyr, Tirren, Voltlyn, Sleet, and Typhous all looked at one another and rolled their eyes before they followed after him. The rooms they encountered after the pottery shop were in a disastrous state, having been ransacked by the cursed apes in an attempt to make it more 'homey.' In one house there was a table covered in hunks of rotten meat and round chips of marked wood, the sight resembling some morbid card game. An adjacent room was made into a half-finished armoury, filled with sharpened stakes of wood and unworked bits of iron and yet another was turned into a pantry filled with mouldy food.

After searching through half a dozen of such houses the group entered into a small cellar with a small throne made of broken furniture. Much of the room was demolished to make room for where the Warlord must have once sat, his throne surrounded by oddities and trinkets. Beyond that however, it looked to once have been a study. Savron began the search immediately, giddily scrounging through the piles of trinkets in search of treasure while the others looked around.

"It's almost like they'd built a tiny kingdom down here," Voltlyn gulped, her whisper barely heard by the others.

"I came to such a conclusion myself, Voltlyn," Typhous picked through the toppled bookshelves and broken wood daintily.

"I wonder how they got down here?" Tirren huffed, glowering about. "I understood the cursed apes being in the Temple Ruins, since they invaded that place once upon a time. But here? How?"

"I'd assume that they tunneled their way here from somewhere," Sleet replied, frowning at the conundrum. "They might have even been the ones to dig these tunnels."

"I suppose…"

"Huh, this cabinet is locked!" Savron called, drawing all of their attention. "And it's still intact too! I wonder if it has something valuable in it."

The six gathered about the cabinet as Savron broke the lock, trying to peer in to get a look. Savron pulled it open dramatically, and then slumped as he found that the only thing in there was a leather-bound book.

"Well, there goes my hope for gold and jewels," he picked up the book and opened it with a chuckle. "Though I suppose a perfect condition book is a much more miraculous find in an ape lair," the purple dragon flipped open the book and started going through it, while the others dispersed to look for something else of interest.

Lyrith sat back against the wall to survey the area. Out of the corner of his eye Lyr noticed Savron frown and start flipping through the pages quicker.

"What's the matter?" Lyr cocked an eye ridge curiously.

"This is the journal of the dragoness who used to tend to the eggs back when the Temple would still accept them," Savron turned another page, not looking up from the book.

"Wait, seriously?" Tirren stopped and turned to Savron.

"Yeah. The old Maid Merriella who served the Guardians nearly a score of years back."

"Huh, is there anything interesting in there?"

"Well, mostly stuff about the eggs, gossip and," Savron trailed off and ceased his page turning. He brought it right up to his face, his eyes zipping across the page. The group gathered about him once more their curiosity piqued.

"What did you find?" Tirren's claws twitched with curiosity, the green dragon's eyes fixed on the book.

"Give me a second," Savron muttered and he flipped over a few more pages. His eyes went wide. "Wow…"

Tirren puffed up indignantly. "Dammit Sav! Read it already!"

Savron looked up at Tirren, grinned and flipped back a few pages. Then he started to read.

_You would not believe what happened today: she came back! She's alive! By the ancestors I'm still weeping over the fact. All these years I thought her dead and it turns out she was still with us! I must have flooded the room with tears of joy when we embraced. How I never thought I'd get the chance to hug my darling again. But she did not come alone. No, with her she brought an egg, and a strange one at that. I can't quite describe it but it was dark in colour, which is odd given her condition. Anyway she came by with this egg which I presume is hers, though she would not tell me for certain. She begged me to take the egg and keep it safe, to bring it up alongside the other eggs in the Temple. Strangest of all she begged me not to reveal she was the one who left it. She didn't even want it associated with her! She told me that I should say I found it on my doorstep, that I never knew who brought it. I told her that was nonsense, that the child had a right to know its mother but she snapped at me. She told me that no one could know she was alive or that she was ever even here. She made me swear as my last vow that I keep the egg safe and her a secret (hence the reason I do not name her here). Then she was gone, staying only long enough for me to pack her some food and have a tearful farewell before she left. I know not to where._

_The egg is with me now, wrapped in blankets by the fire. I can't sleep tonight, as I can't stop thinking about that encounter. Why was she running? Why did she have that look of terror on her face? Who was the father? Did she run afoul of some thug father and had to flee? Was it even hers? That was my assumption but as I said before I'm not sure now. Why would my darling dumpling steal an egg and if so why would she leave it with me? Why did she need to stay a secret? I wish I could know but I doubt I will ever have any of these questions answered. But I shall do as she wished and I'll take care of the egg and raise it in the Temple. It will be hard to avoid playing favourites, once the others hatch, but I will try my best. _

_Thank you for listening my friend. You're the only one who I trust to tell such things._

_..._

_The Guardians were so excited when I brought the egg in. They said they didn't recognize the colouration of the egg so they don't know what element it might be. Cyril claims it must be an off hued Shadow dragon egg but Volteer disagrees. I couldn't quite make out what he said but I believe he thinks that the colouration implies a sub element. Probably one of the exotic ones that are rarely seen. Even after half an hour none of them could agree on which one. I know I certainly couldn't tell, but I had thought that they of all dragons would have. They said they'd do some research to try and determine what element it might be once they had finished doing such with Spyro and Cynder's egg, but for now it was put in the special batch of eggs. I couldn't be more proud of my little dumpling for laying (or finding) such a marvellous egg. I wish I could tell her now. _

_Speaking of Lady Cynder's egg, it has been getting along well. I believe it will be close to hatching soon. Another month and those two will finally become true parents. I'm so happy for them. The Guardians are still befuddled by what element the egg might be. Its colouration is wholly unique and matches none in any of their records as of yet. They believe it's due to Spyro's purple heritage. Apparently purple dragons don't breed pure element dragons but only sub-elements or other purples. It's entirely possible that we might be seeing a brand new breed of dragon! How exciting! I couldn't begin to guess myself, but the staff has set up a small bet on their own personal theories. Some of the ones I've heard are absolutely crazy! I don't think Spyro and Cynder know about it, but if they do they're taking all this rumormongering over their hatchling well._

_The bickering over names those two are having is still rather adorable, though I think they've finally settling on some, though if they have, they've yet to tell me. Still, it's quite a pleasure to see that these mighty heroes are just like us in some respects at least._

_I'm feeling rather drowsy right now. Good night._

_..._

_Nothing has really happened much in the past week. The egg she brought me has been put with the other sub-element eggs in the hatchery. When they aren't fawning over Spyro and Cynder's eggs they spend their time discussing what those five might be, hers included. They haven't come up with anything yet but I have no doubt they will. I've seen their library on elemental magics and it covers just about everything one can think of. _

_If it's at all possible the surface of Lady Cynder's egg has gotten even shinier. I don't remember polishing it in the past few days but someone else might have. I wouldn't put it past the Guardians to do so. Still, the silver and gold of the egg is very pleasant to the eye and it has almost a mirror like quality to it when so polished._

_Nothing else to talk about though. It has been a very slow week and I only wrote this to fill in after missing so many days._

_..._

_I think I'm composed enough to write this now but… but it's so very hard. The Temple nursery was raided and there was nothing I could do! I found the bodies of the guards and I ran to the nursery but all of the eggs had been smashed! I was inside the nursery before I even realized what I was stepping in. It took everything I had not to be sick on the spot and… and I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying no matter how hard I try. _

_Spyro and Cynder's egg was gone. The whole pedestal was covered in albumen and I don't know if it was from their egg or the others. The entire special batch was smashed and the egg she brought to me was gone too. I tried to make sense of it, I tried to find the egg shells but there were so many and all of them were covered in_

_Sorry. I just needed to be ill for a moment. _

_I heard Lady Cynder come by too but she was hysterical. She didn't seem to notice me and she didn't respond to my words. The guards and Guardians finally came and took us away. I wasn't in a much better state than Lady Cynder. I never saw what happened next or learned if they found the one responsible. But I do know that there were no survivors left in that nursery. Who could have done this? What monster massacres innocent eggs like that?!_

_I don't know and I'm still crying and I don't know what to do. But as wretched as I feel I cannot imagine what Lady Cynder and Lord Spyro are going through now. I've lost children in the war, but never as an egg and never so horridly. _

_I hope they find the bastards who did this and bring about the same fate upon them._

Savron closed the journal and looked up at the others, an eyeridge raised. Tirren, Sleet and Typhous stared at Savron, eyes wide. Voltlyn's head was bowed, eyes somber as she thought about what was said in the journal. Lyrith had leaned back against the wall, a claw poised against his chin as he stared at Savron, noting the twitches of realization forming around his eyes.

After many long seconds of silence Tirren spoke up, her voice low.

"Sav… does this mean your mom and dad had…"

"Yeah," Savron murmured as he put the book down. "They had an egg before me. They told me about it a while back. They don't know who did it or why, but someone broke into the Temple and smashed all of the eggs there. That's why the Temple isn't used as a nursery anymore."

"I believe I heard about that," Typhous coughed and averted his eyes. "Dad told me about a massacre at the Temple once. But I didn't know that Spyro and Cynder lost an egg in it."

"I'm so sorry, Savron," Tirren sighed, forcing her gaze to his to give him a wan smile.

"It was long before my time," Savron said, shrugging. "I didn't even know about it until recently."

"That's not all though?" Lyrith grunted from the back of the group. "There's something strange about those first few journal entries and you noticed what it was, right Savron?"

The others glanced back at Lyrith surprised. Then they looked to Savron, who was nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, something is off about the dragoness who brought that strange egg to the Temple," Savron flipped through the journal to find that page again. "She said that she wanted Merriella to say she found the egg and that she should remain dead. Then she left as soon as she arrived, even though this dragoness clearly had some sort of intimate connection with Merriella. But why?"

"Maybe she just didn't want it?" Sleet suggested. "Times were tough two decades ago and maybe she couldn't afford to raise it?"

"That doesn't really fit though, does it?" Tirren replied, her frown deepening. "Dragons were leaving eggs at the Temple all the time, both so it could have a good education and so that they wouldn't have to take care of it themselves. She could have easily brought it right up to the Temple and handed it over. The Guardians would certainly have taken the egg if the Nurses' reaction is to be believed. And if she really didn't care about the egg, why didn't she drop it off at one of the orphanages instead of making the long trip all the way here to bring it to Merriella? That way nobody would know if she was alive or not and she wouldn't risk it by letting her Nurse friend know?"

"I… I don't know about that," Voltlyn shook her head. "I think she must have really cared for the egg. By… by bringing it to the Temple she shows that she did want it to have a good education or life instead of one in an orphanage. She must have really cared about it, not that she wanted to get rid of it. And… and her leaving right away, telling Merriella to say she found it at her doorstep would keep it from being immediately associated with her. I think she might have been running from the father or someone, to bring it to a safe place where it could grow up away from abuse…" Voltlyn trailed off, flushed from all the stares pointed her way.

"I suppose," Tirren nodded.

Savron shook his head. "I don't think that's the case Voltlyn. I mean, it's convincing and all but I think that's what she wanted us to think."

"W… what do you mean?" the topaz dragoness asked, startled.

"Think about it, doesn't that sound really fishy to you?" Savron put the book down and started pacing, his voice excited. "A mysterious dragoness who everyone thought was dead shows up at the doorstep of the head nurse of the Temple nursery. She gives her an egg and refuses to say who the father is, begs her to take it to the Temple and then leaves, only telling her that nobody could know that it was her who left it there. The Nurse takes the egg to the temple and, somehow the Guardians have never seen an egg of that colouration before. The Guardians. The ones who have looked after thousands of eggs for scores of years. Then, two weeks later someone or something manages to infiltrate the Dragon Temple, one of the most heavily guarded places in the Realms and massacres all of the eggs without anybody noticing him or finding him. This doesn't sound like a desperate mother looking for a place to take her egg, this sounds like a plot."

Tirren, Typhous, Sleet, and Lyrith all looked at one another, nodding slowly. Voltlyn hesitated but also joined in, seeing where the purple was going with this.

"Mom, dad, and the Guardians have made lots of enemies during their crusade against the Dark Master and having beaten Malefor to the punch a second time he or some of his lieutenants must have been pretty pissed. Whoever this dragoness was they must have used her to plant something in the Temple to get them in and out with ease, assuming she wasn't one of them to begin with."

The others nodded slowly as Savron's words dawned on them.

"You're right there, Sav," Sleet mumbled. "That definitely is suspicious."

"It'd probably be smart to take that journal to the Guardians. They might like to know about this too," Tirren said firmly. "Whether your theory is right or not."

"Oh I will," Savron smirked, stuffing the journal in his pack.

"Um… whatever happened to Merriella?" Voltlyn murmured, her eyes meeting Savron's.

Savron paused, frowning. "Huh, I don't know. Mom and dad never told me. I could ask them when I give them the journal. If she's still around we could ask her what was up with the dragoness. Though I doubt it since, if this was her house, then she's been gone for a long time. Probably left after the attack on the Temple," Savron tapped his bag pointedly. "That was her last entry I read in there after all."

"Oh…"

"No, it's a good point Voltlyn," Savron said with a smile. "You really need to say that kind of thing more, you have some good ideas."

Voltlyn beamed, bowing her head in thanks. Lyrith's muzzle twitched at the sight of Voltlyn's face brightening and the white moved so he could stand beside her.

"Let's pack up a few more of these things guys," Savron said, looking around at the trinkets around them. "Might as well get as many valuable things as we can before we scram. But let's not take too much longer, okay? If skeletal apes were down here than I don't want to wait around to see if there's anything worse."

**Grapefruit ****Dardarax's Characters:**

Lyrith, Savron, Tirren, Typhous, Voltlyn, Sleet.

Merriella, Mysterious Dragoness.

***Eats Grapefruit***

Yuck. Anyway, this is a chapter I've been looking forward to for a long time and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. =) I'm curious to know what you all think of it, so feel free to leave comments/reviews to express your opinions. ;D *unbelievably subtle request for more reviews.*

Things are a bit slow on my end right now. Just flew to Vancouver last Saturday and I'm currently living with my parents for a week (I'm staying for two full weeks but as of the release of this chapter it'll only be one more). Because I don't have as many video games to play it should mean that I'll be writing more, so hopefully I'll be able to work out lots of stuff in rapid succession for all of your enjoyment.

Work on FC, EH has gone nowhere, and I mean that literally. I haven't even picked it up to try. My passion has been with DL 2 right now and I feel no motivation to continue work on FC, EH. I would like to get it done but doing so would interfere with my DL 2 writing as well as any original writing I would want to work on. If you want me to work on it again soon I'd need to put DL 2 aside for a while to get it started again. Though I'm not sure where I even want to go with it anymore.

Also, fairly soon I'll be trying out doing a series of one-shot as journals of various side characters in the DL universe. The poll has decided that's what it wants and I agree that, as of now, it's one of the projects I'm most interested in doing. Maybe it'll help jumpstart my inspiration in other areas as well. =)

I'm going to end this authors note now before it gets any longer. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. =3


	5. Meetings

Chapter 5: Meetings

By Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Temple, The Guardians or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro franchise. I'm too lazy to make up a disclaimer joke right now. So insert your own involving hot chocolate, sentient lamp shades and the tooth fairy here. I do, however, own a number of characters who appear in this chapter. Their names are listed at the bottom. _

Savron dashed down the hall, his mud-streaked paws leaving filthy prints on the marble floors. Students jumped out of the way with shocked cries, all of which Savron ignored. He had a mission and he wouldn't let anyone get in his way. The purple had only just returned from the adventure in Darrowlight and after a quick stop in his room to clean up and leave his new found goodies in a safe spot, was off to show his parents the journal he had found.

Colours streaked by him, the blurred shapes of dragons as he raced through the sunset lit hallways. Savron brushed past the crowds exiting the kitchen and straight on towards the Guardian's Hall. Savron had taken every short cut he knew to get here in an attempt to cut his parents off. It hadn't taken him long to learn they'd been only just called to a meeting with the Guardians, thanks to some helpful gossip from the omnipresent rumourmonger Burnam. He just hoped he'd get there before they'd be lost to him.

Savron turned the last corner and his green eyes alighted upon the large purple and black figures of his parents. Unfortunately they had only just slipped through the massive stone doors of the Guardian's meeting hall. Savron started to shout for the pair to stop but was too late, as the door had already ground shut behind the two dragons. He scampered to a stop with a sigh, and looked up at the ten glowing orbs embedded into the rock. Each one represented one of the prime elements, from the sky blue orb of ice to the white orb of light.

The young purple hesitated for some seconds and debated the futility of knocking.

"Not like they'd want me in their stupid meeting," Savron glared past the wall as if he could see what was going on in there. "I'm too young and immature after all," he said, his voice taking on a mocking adult quality. A smile crept over his muzzle. "Good thing they don't know about the trap door I made..."

Snickering to himself Savron skipped over to the nearest window and jumped out of it onto the ledge. He ran across the narrow precipice, and up the incline over a large stained glass window. Savron leapt up onto the roof and scampered over the tiles to a nearly invisible tarp he had draped over the entrance he had made. He uncovered it, slipped inside, and found himself in the rafters of the meeting room. He peered over the edge of the woodwork to the table not far below.

Spyro and Cynder, his parents, sat opposite of the Guardians Terrador and Cyril. Inferna and Volteer the Guardians of fire and lightning sat across from one another while Aquina the Temple healer and pseudo Guardian of Water stood nearby. Savron's eyes left the blue, coral horned serpentine dragoness and were drawn to the strange young drake who sat between Volteer and Terrador, not recognizing him.

He was crimson in colour with a black underbelly and wing membranes. A short mane of brown fur framed his head and a large pair of bat-like ears stuck out from where his horns should have been. A long catlike tail poked out from beneath the thick cape draped over his shoulders, both of which swished across the marble floor.

"Is that a Feran?" Savron leaned a bit closer. "What's he doing here?"

"Now that everyone has introduced themselves," Cyril coughed and turned his gaze to the feran. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Tantius?"

Savron frowned at the name, trying to remember if he heard of it before.

The feran bowed deeply, his excessive jewelry tinkling.

"It would be my pleasure, Cyril. Though I'm afraid I will not be able to go into such depth regarding my ancestry as you have."

Cyril beamed at that, while the others rolled their eyes in agreement.

"There truly is little to say," Tantius' perfect white fangs gleamed brightly as he smiled. "I am the son of Baroness Bammette Pyrrius of Kaiser's court and I was given this chance due to my extensive background in Feran and Dragon lore. I was taught for most of my life in the Grasbronda University and they believed I was capable of representing the Feran race as a Guardian."

"Yeah, not much to say," Savron muttered silently to himself. Then he paused, the last part startling him. "Guardian?!" Savron leaned further forward to scrutinize Tantius.

"Ah yes, Bammette," Cyril straightened. "I've heard quite a bit about her. She was one of the main supporters of the treaty am I correct?"

"Indeed she was. I will admit that it may have been part of the reason I was selected, but I will still do my utmost to prove my worthiness."

"Well you'll have a plenitude of opportunities to accomplish such!" Volteer bubbled. "Oh how I do look forward to this year of classes! It has been so long since I have taken on an apprentice!"

"Speaking of which, you are aware that you will be have to go through the proper courses to join our ranks?" Cynder cut in.

"Oh, why bother?" Inferna giggled. "I didn't have to do them and look how well I turned out! I'm just as knowledgeable and skilled as the rest of you!"

Terrador turned to glare at Inferna. "You were allowed into our ranks so quickly because at least four Guardians must be present at a Temple at all times. And you met the base requirements to fit among us."

"Now that I think about it, maybe we should finally put her through those courses," Cyril said with a sly smirk. "We do have more than four Guardians now. We can surely spare one for re-education in proper Guardian etiquette."

"Sorry, I didn't catch that Cyril. I was busy cleaning both earfrills at the same time!" Inferna said as she moved her paws away from her head. Cyril groaned and rolled his eyes while Inferna grinned and gave him a wink. Savron couldn't help but snicker and he had to cover his muzzle to avoid giving himself away.

"Forgive Inferna," Cynder rolled her eyes. "She has the maturity of a hatchling."

Tantius hastily wiped away the mirth from his face and gave a grave nod of agreement.

"I personally would rather take the courses than go the easy route regardless," he cleared his throat, straightening the scarf about his neck. "If I am to be a Guardian then I wish to properly earn it."

"That is the attitude a proper Guardian should have," Cyril declared and gave Inferna a sideways glance. She ignored him and continued to whistle a cheerful ditty.

"You will start classes with the other students at the same time," Spyro said as he stepped forward. "And you will take classes along with them, albeit more advanced classes. We've arranged for you to work with Terrador on Ancient Dragonic History, Volteer on Artifact Creation, Cyril on War Tactics and Diplomacy, and Inferna on Advanced Magical Theory. You will take these courses alongside the other students we've chosen as potential Guardian candidates and should you pass all of those Cynder will take you on as her apprentice."

Tantius nodded along with Spyro, his smile wide. "You do not know how eager I am to begin."

"Excellent. Let us show you to your chambers so you may rest for the night," Cyril beamed as he stepped towards the entrance.

"Everything's probably already been unpacked for you," Inferna smirked. "Hope you don't mind a bit of snooping by our servants."

"Well, if they have, there is not much reason for complaining now," Tantius chuckled, following after the Guardians.

Savron did not hear what was said next as he exited his hiding spot, replaced the tarp and moved to intercept his parents a few hallways down. He dashed along the precipice and then dove into his own shadow. The black pool he left behind slipped under the windowsill and darted across the hallway. Savron re-emerged and turned around, walking towards the hallway the Guardians trotted down.

"Mom, dad! There you are!" Savron shouted as the group passed by in front of him. The Guardians stopped and turned to the younger purple, surprised to see him. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Have you?" Cynder asked, an eye ridge raised as Savron pattered to a stop in front of her. She eyed his mud-streaked paws. "Have you been adventuring again?"

"No, I was just frolicking with the Frogweeds," Savron smirked and grabbed the satchel that hung around his neck. "But I really wanted to show you something."

"Can it wait, Sav, we're in the middle of something?" Spyro glanced at the other Guardians apologetically. The Guardians shrugged but Tantius stepped forward, intrigued.

"So you are Savron," the feran beamed. "I have heard many rumours about you."

Savron met the feran's orange eyes and pretended to look startled. "Um… and you are?" he asked, looking up at his parents for the confirmation they thought he needed.

"I am Tantius Pyrrius," Tantius bowed, a paw on his chest. "And I will be a student at the Temple for a while."

Savron nodded, faking a look of sudden realization. "Oh! Are you that Fear Guardian I've heard about? There's been rumours going around that you would come by soon. Wasn't sure if I believed it myself."

The Guardians glanced at one another, surprised such information spread so quickly.

"Most of the students didn't really want to believe it either," Savron eyed the feran critically. "After the whole incident here trust has been a bit strained."

Tantius gave a great sigh. "I sincerely apologize on behalf of my people and the Panthers. While it is true that Ramolous deceived us, it is also a fault of our own for allowing him to do so. Rest assured that I will do my best to mend the rift he has created between our people."

"Good," Savron said with a strained smile. He slapped his paw into Tantius and gave the startled feran's foreleg a good shake. "I look forward to it."

Savron turned to Spyro and Cynder once more, both of whom had watched the interaction with matching frowns. "Anyway, I really do need to speak with you, mom, dad. This is something you have to see."

Spyro glanced at the Guardians who gave them a nod of consent. Savron watched as the Guardians left and noted with some satisfaction the disdain on the feran's face as he tried to discretely wipe the mud Savron left on his paw.

"Now what is this you so desperately want to show us?" Cynder sat upon her haunches with a sigh.

Savron produced the leather journal from his bag and handed it over to them, telling them to open it to one of the latter pages. The two looked at it dubiously and then craned their heads in close to read it. Their eyes widened as they flipped through the pages, looked to one another, and then back at Savron.

"Where did you get this?" Cynder slammed the journal shut.

"Some friends and I had gone to explore some tunnels under Darrowlight," Savron explained. "The tunnels led between some sunken houses, in one of which we found that journal. But that's not the important part, is it? It's the mysterious dragoness."

Cynder looked to Spyro and both nodded. "That was definitely something new. I thought it a bit strange when she brought in that egg, but nothing like this ever really crossed my mind."

Spyro hummed to himself, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder who this dragoness could have been? And why did she want to remain a mystery?"

"I think I might know why," Savron grinned ecstatically. "Think about it, isn't it such a strange coincidence that this dragoness brought an egg to the head nurse, who was apparently someone she knew, and then asked her not to reveal who she was? And this egg was apparently one the Guardians never saw before? And then…"

Cynder frowned, nodding slowly. "Not two weeks later there was the attack on the Temple hatchery… That is too strange to be a coincidence."

"What are you two going on about?" Spyro glanced between them with a puzzled expression. "I don't get it."

Savron and Cynder sighed in unison, rolling their eyes.

"Isn't it obvious dad? I think the dragoness has something to do with the attack!" Savron explained. "The egg was a ploy to get into the Temple easier!"

"But who would…" Spyro started, only to slap himself on the head. "Just about every criminal we've foiled or associate of Malefor we crossed."

"Exactly! And my older sibling might have been the target!"

Cynder tapped the book against her paw and hummed thoughtfully. "We probably shouldn't jump straight to conclusions. While this does sound very, very likely, we should probably bring this up with the other Guardians first. They'd like to know about this too and with this information we might finally be able to start tracking down the one responsible for the attack."

Spyro turned to Savron and beamed. "Thanks for bringing this to us, Sav. We really do appreciate it."

"Maybe for once you adventuring has paid off after all," Cynder smiled and leaned down to nuzzle Savron's cheek. He snorted and started to push her head away, only to give in and accept it.

"Now if you don't mind, we should probably go and meet with the others," Cynder handed the book to Spyro to store away. "This could be exactly what we've been looking for all these years."

"Have fun!" Savron waved to them as they trotted off. They returned the wave with the tips of their tails. Savron sat in the middle of the hall, smiling warmly to himself long after they disappeared. Then, finally, he stood up, his grin turned sly. "So… the Guardians are looking to take on apprentices… and a Feran dignitary will be one of them… I wonder who else is going to be picked out for these special classes?"

…

The crowd grew hushed as the wind dragon was hurled across the sandy floor of the arena to crash into one of the many stone pillars. There was a moment where the only noise was the gasping of the wounded drake and the huffs that came from his opponent, a broad shouldered shadow dragon. Then the crowd roared to life as the wind dragon rose again. Cheers clashed with hisses and boos as the two paired off again, to circle in search of a weakness to exploit.

Typhous watched disinterestedly as his claws itched to find the book in his bag. He dared not produce it however, for fear of offending the sole reason he was here. Aephion, said reason, chatted away amicably with Darius, the sand dragon librarian. Typhous did his best to tune them out, but occasionally caught wind of their increasingly obscene bets and battle plans for the two combatants.

The shadow dragon attempted once again to get behind the wind dragon, using his shadow to catch him by surprise. The wind drake seemed to be catching on however, despite his opponent's best attempts to vary it up. Even still the battle dragged on, neither wounded nearly enough to tip the fight in one's favour.

_Why did I agree to this?_ Typhous rubbed his eyes, to try and keep himself awake. _I could be reading or writing or something. I don't even know why these two are fighting. _

"Having fun, Ty?" Aephion slapped Typhous on the back which startled him out of his reverie.

"Oh, um, yes father," Typhous forced a smile onto his face. "So much fun."

Aephion grinned, slapped him on the back again and returned to chatting with Darius. Typhous sighed; his dad hadn't caught his strained grimace. He shook his head and turned his gaze back to the arena. It was a large basin carved into the rock, with stone bleachers rising up on all sides to form a dome. The bleachers looked down over a high wall that surrounded the arena, to protect them from immediate danger. A few cushioned balconies hung overhead as well, where the most privileged could watch the fight in comfort. Yet, despite the fact that Aephion could have easily gotten them a spot in the balconies, he instead chose to seat them among the bleachers to watch.

Typhous pushed that angry thought aside to refocus on the battle ground itself. The sand floor was, at one point leveled off, but drifts now rippled dramatically across its surface. The huge pillars standing about the arena were not connected to anything in particular, and served only as an impressive decoration and cover. In one corner a pool of water had been placed in a patch of rock to offer some colour, though despite its apparent size it was shockingly deep. Other oddities were scattered about the arena as well, trinkets, tools and trophies that were placed with purposeful randomness about the area. An ape helm, a coil of thick rope and a barrel were the first that drew Typhous' eyes as he searched the arena. They were also the same ones that drew the attention of the combatants.

The wind dragon snatched up the rope and, using his wind element, sent it flying towards the shadow dragon to tie about his leg. The shadow dragon yelped and dove into his own shadow. The wind dragon smirked and tied the rope around one of the pillars. The rope followed after the shadow dragon, to mark out his exact location. The grey dragon waited for him to emerge and then launched a barrage of wind blades at him. The shadow dragon shouted as he was thrown back, only staying up because of the armour he wore.

Typhous applauded lightly, only to wince when Aephion bellowed out a massive cheer. Typhous brought a claw to his earfrill and jiggled it about inside, hoping he hadn't burst an eardrum. Satisfied one hadn't done so, he leaned back to shut his eyes in an attempt to drown out the raucous noise.

It was not that he hated his father's company, though it was beginning to feel like such. No, he was simply sick to death of all these activities he neither cared about nor was interested in. Typhous appreciated the idea of duels. To be able to beat the tar out of an offender was a nice option to have, but to be forced to watch them was excruciating. Especially duels such as this, where there were no stakes. Typhous had maybe seen these two a couple of times in the halls, but he'd never talked with them. He had barely even remembered that a duel was taking place until his dad had dragged him to it.

Typhous looked to his father with a frown. "Why are these two fighting again? I've forgotten."

Aephion and Darius looked to Typhous, askance. "Well…" Darius drawled as he dragged up his memory. "I believe one of these two cheated with the other's fiancé. I believe the wind dragon was the one offended and the shadow the offender."

"Oh," Typhous sighed and slumped back on his chair. "So it's over a female then."

"Come now, are you that surprised?" Aephion laughed. "Can you think of a more noble reason to do battle, hm?"

Typhous huffed and thought of at least three, though he did not word them aloud. _For a friend, to punish a wrongdoer, or to defend one's family honor. _

"Maybe I can get you thrown into the match,"Aephion suggested with a wink. "You clobber those two and get the girl? Sounds good to me."

Typhous inwardly groaned and resisted the urge to cup his face in his paws. _Not this again._

"Dad, you don't even know who the dragoness is and you're trying to arrange for me to be with a female? Besides, I doubt I'd impress anyone that way by beating up their betrothed and their lover."

Aephion shrugged. "True… true… There are much better ways of finding you a date. "

"Father, can you please stop talking about this," Typhous begged, meeting Aephion's gaze. "I really don't want to think about this right now."

Aephion frowned, and then shrugged. "Fine, fine. Let's just enjoy the battle. I get it, I get it. Never thought my son would be so opposed to the idea of getting some action but…"

Typhous pretended not to hear the last part. The silver grey dragon's mind slowly drifted off once more as he watched the fight play out, to return to memories of home. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen it. The huge mansion just outside of Warfang seemed like a distant, far off land. He could only just barely make out the huge empty corridors, the decaying trappings of fashion that were never exchanged. He faintly could visualize the overgrown garden and the flaking paintings on the walls. All of them had once been his mothers, though he had never seen them in their full glory. Just like he'd never gotten to meet his mother.

A sigh escaped Typhous' muzzle. There had once been a time when he eagerly waited for his dad to return, to come by the mansion to play. Where they traipsed about the mansion with the new toys he'd brought back from Warfang. He wondered where that time had gone. Had it been after he went to the academy? Or had the connection had grown stale before that?

The Shadow dragon slammed the wind's head into the turf and then tossed him across the arena into a pillar. The wind dragon collapsed and, before he could rise, the shadow drake pinned him with tendrils of darkness. A few seconds later the black dragon was victorious, the wind dragon unable to escape the death hold he had put him into. There was a mass of applause but also no shortage of boos; but the winner cared not. He trotted back to the entrance to be met by a fair looking fire dragoness. They strode off together, wings draped over one another's backs.

Typhous watched as the wind dragon slunk off in defeat, leaving a trail of tears in the sand as he left.

Aephion clucked his tongue in disappointment. "Shame he didn't win. But he had his chance to avenge his honor and win back his girl and he lost it. Looks like the rebel wins again."

Typhous rolled his eyes and stood with the rest of the crowd to file back out into the Temple grounds. He breathed in the fresh air, glad to be rid of the stink that hundreds of excited bodies gave off. Typhous broke free of the crowd and trotted into the grounds to gaze around. The eastern grounds were wide and open, with very few trees or shrubs to be seen. The grounds stood apart from the gardens, which took up the rest of the area around the Temple, as it held the many structures that aided in the day to day life of the Dragon Temple.

The arena stood high and tall beside the Temple; the massive dome standing precariously close to the edge of the plateau. A marble stone path led from it, across to the other buildings. A huge statue garden of the many great heroes of the War of Malefor stood along the path, plates of silver embedded into each. The forge was nestled up against the wall that circled the Temple, from which visible waves of heat could be seen, even in the intense summer sun. The gym stood across from it right up against the Temple, between which a short walkway spanned.

"Ah, I thought I lost you for a moment, Typhous," Aephion slowed to a halt beside his son, beaming. "Trying to get away from me, huh?"

"Oh no, never," Typhous smiled toothily.

"So, that was fun. What do you want to do next?"

"Well, maybe we could go read in the library?"

"Read? That's so boring though. Why don't we head down to Darrowlight to see what's going on there? We might be able to find you a d… er, drink you actually like!"

Typhous sighed and shrugged. _Probably for the best. As friendly as dad was getting with Darius, we'd probably get kicked out of the library within minutes._

"Is that a yes?"

"I guess dad."

Aephion frowned at his tone of voice. "You don't sound all that happy."

"Well I can't think of anything else I'd like to do so…"

"Well, okay,"Aephion turned to take off when a flash of white caught Typhous' eye. He turned and saw Lyrith as he left the arena. The white caught sight of him and paused, looking at the two as Aephion unfurled his wings. An idea flashed through Typhous' mind and he gave a quick wave to Lyr and then called to his dad to stop.

"Hey dad, I am actually not sure if I'm up for a trip down to Darrowlight. I think something I ate before the match is disagreeing with me."

"Oh," Aephion looked startled. "Do you need to go to the clinic?"

"I probably should," Typhous sighed with a shake of his head. "But don't let me ruin your fun. Go down to Darrowlight without me. If you find something interesting maybe we could go next time."

"Are you certain?" Aephion frowned. "Because I wouldn't want to leave you if you're…"

"Dad, it is just my stomach protesting a little. I will be fine," Typhous laughed and waved his father off, a paw on his stomach for emphasis. "Besides, it isn't fair of me to drag you along with me when you could be out having fun!"

Aephion sighed. "Well, if you insist. I know you can take care of yourself after all. If you need me send a messenger, I'll be checking out some of the pubs," and with that he took off, circling overhead a few times to gaze down at his son before he flew off.

Typhous sighed in relief, glad that it had worked. "That was shockingly easy," he murmured and turned to search for Lyrith in the crowd. He found the white sitting by one of the statues, his red eyes curious as Typhous approached.

"Wanted to escape your dad again?" Lyr asked with a smirk.

"You caught me there," Typhous smiled as he sat down next to him. "I have had quite enough of being dragged around to do things with him. I need a break."

"And so you came to me," Lyrith raised an eye ridge. "Not a very good choice."

"Please," Typhous rolled his eyes. "I know you like reading as much as I do. Why don't we head up to the library?"

Lyrith pondered for a moment and then shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I need to catch up on some books anyway."

"Excellent! Come with me, I know the nearest landing platform that leads to it."

The two took off, spiraling upwards towards the library. They landed on the platform that Typhous pointed to and slipped inside. They were a short distance away from the library, just a few classroom blocks away. They started towards it, walking side by side.

Lyrith turned his gaze to Typhous and eyed him with amusement. "Why don't you enjoy being with your dad? Did he do something wrong?"

"Well, sort of," Typhous shrugged. "He means well but I don't care for the things he likes and he doesn't understand that. And he doesn't like the things I like, so he always refuses my suggestions."

Lyrith gave a nod of understanding.

"Though he wants to hang out with me and that means I have to go do things he wants to do," Typhous sighed. "And worse yet it is unbearably difficult to talk with him. He never lets up with his talks about how I should already be with a female and the like," Typhous flushed lightly and finished with clenched fangs. "Especially in public settings."

The pair rounded into the entrance of the library. The library was two stories tall, with a third cut off from access by regular students. The first floor was open roofed to allow students to fly up to the second without hindrance. Suspended from the second floor roof were large, weighted platforms with reading tables that the students could land on to enjoy the view below. Dozens of tables with cushion seats were scattered about both floors, and while the hanging platforms were always filled there were hundreds of spaces still unoccupied. Where there were no tables, stacks upon stacks of bookshelves made their home. Each shelf was packed full of books, scrolls and other strange tomes that were organized by an odd system of decimals which Lyrith was still trying to work out.

Typhous started towards the tables only to see Lyrith split off towards the shelves. He hastily followed.

"I don't have anything to read at the moment," Lyrith glanced at Typhous with a huff. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Um… what do you wish to read?"

"Hm… I think either something from dragonic history or some sort of classic literature. I need to catch up on that stuff."

"Ah, well I think I know where I can find something for that," Typhous smiled, turning some corners to lead Lyrith to a secreted stack of books. "These shelves have all of the best literary books from the most famous dragonic writers of the past couple centuries. You cannot find anything more classic than this."

Typhous gestured to the trio of shelves dramatically and Lyrith approached them with a critical eye. He picked three out at random and read their titles with a stiff nod. "These'll do."

"Don't you want to know what they're about?"

"No. I'll figure that out on my own."

"Fair enough."

The two took a seat back at the tables and Lyrith dropped his books to the table with a bang. The other students looked at him sternly but did not say anything. Typhous produced his own book from his bag and opened it up to the page his marker was at. He began skimming through it as Lyrith picked through the three he had chosen and decided on _Fangla_. The image on it was that of a spooky castle in the background with terrified villagers looking up at it.

"That is a really good book," Typhous remarked. "Classic horror story. Though its ideas on Blood Dragons are rather soaked in folktales and not actual fact."

Lyrith eyed Typhous coolly. "Thanks for the hint. I was hoping to figure it out on my own but…"

"Oh, sorry Lyrith, I will be quiet," Typhous said guiltily. "Just enjoy."

"I'll try."

They resumed reading, and Lyrith dug deep into the first couple pages of text. Half an hour passed before Lyrith put down his book and looked Typhous squarely in the face. Typhous noticed almost right away and anxiously met his gaze, his brow furrowed.

"What is it Lyr?"

"What is it like to grow up with a father?"

Typhous blinked in surprise. "E… excuse me?"

"You heard me. What's it like," Lyrith grunted. "I have one now but I never grew up with Deran. You grew up with your dad, I presume. What was it like?"

Typhous blinked a few times, confused. "I don't believe that's a question I can answer, Lyrith. I have no comparison."

Lyrith shrugged.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you clearly have a problem with your dad and I was wondering if that's a common thing."

"Ah," Typhous smiled wanly. "No, I do not believe it is all that common. At least not in my experience. I'm just surprised you asked. You aren't one to normally bring up that sort of thing about your past."

"I know you know," Lyrith huffed. "I told you all I didn't know my parents during the adventure to meet up with the army, remember?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then that's not important. Now back to my question. Is this how the two of you have always been or is this new?"

Typhous closed his book, flummoxed. "Um…"

"Because you always appear very awkward around him. Especially when he's talking."

"Well, it hasn't always but…" Typhous took a deep breath. "We used to be really close, Lyrith. But as I grew older I sort of broke away from him. I don't really know why."

Lyr watched Typhous as he glanced away, his eyes avoiding Lyrith's for a brief moment as he said that. Lyr frowned but decided not to push. It was clear how uncomfortable Typhous had become after he had brought up the topic.

"Never mind," Lyrith picked up his book again with a sigh. "It was a bad question on my part. Still, if you want to talk about anything just let me know. I wouldn't mind trying to help you out."

Typhous sighed his thanks and returned to his own book. Every once in a while he glanced up to Lyrith though, his eyes searching the white's face. His thoughts churned as he did so. As uncomfortable as that near interrogation had been, Typhous couldn't help but wonder if he really could talk to Lyrith. He'd never really thought about it before. Talking to anyone seemed like such an impossibility. But maybe…"

Several hours passed and Lyrith finally rose with a yawn. He excused himself, saying he needed to go exercise and then walked off to check his book out with Darius. Typhous watched him go, his mind still awhirl with new thoughts.

**Characters created by Dardarax**

Savron, Lyrith, Typhous, Tantious Pyrrius.

Aquina, Inferna, Aephion, Darius,

Burnam, Merriella, Bammette, Ramolous.

I'm going to keep this one short. I'm rather tired and can't really focus very well on this sort of thing. 6_9

My writing has really slowed recently thanks to my recent relapse into my Minecraft addiction but the variety of chores I've had to do thanks to living alone again didn't help. I've fallen behind nearly a full chapter. I'll try and catch up as best I can before the school year starts but if this keeps up I won't make it and the first chapter of my buffer will be lost. Not that that should affect you guys in any way but it makes me feel a little less confident about myself. That's supposed to be there for major problems, like complete chapter re-writes, not lack of motivation.

Anyway I'm going to get back to work on that in a bit. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Not quite as exciting as the last one but it does have its purpose. Mainly to introduce a new character! :D

Thanks for all the support guys, you've been great to me. =)

Ps. Thanks again to Rurik-Redwolf and GoldenGriffiness for their excellent edits!


	6. An Exercise of Caution

Chapter 6: An Exercise of Caution

By Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Dragon Temple, Warfang or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro franchise. Upon reading this chapter you will lose your ability to touch doorknobs without becoming a bowl of pasta for about five minutes. You've been warned. However, a number of my own characters are featured in this chapter and their names are listed at the bottom._

Savron fell out of bed as a series of knocks hammered at his door, sending the purple sprawling to the ground. He groaned and lay on the ground as the knocking continued. After a short struggle he forced his gummed eyes open. Emerald eyes searched for the apes he was sure were invading before he realized it was indeed the door. He rolled slowly to his paws and staggered over with a broad yawn.

His room was shockingly neat given Savron's normally spontaneous personality, with the floor neatly swept and no needless garbage to be found anywhere. Trophies from countless adventures lined Savron's walls and shelves, taking up the majority of his living space. The only thing that was amiss in Savron's room was his bed, the cushions of his pile scattered about haphazardly as if thrown in a fit. The crumpled blanket was soaked in sweat and trailed along after Savron, hooked in the scythe blade of his tail.

The knocking stopped and Savron pulled open the door with a yawn. "What is it?" he groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Couldn't you tell I've been trying to sleep?"

Spyro raised an eye ridge at the sight of his messy, tired son and chortled. "Savron, it's well passed noon now. How much more sleep could you possibly need?"

Savron blinked and looked out the window, to see the pools of daylight that formed a short distance away from his bed. He looked back to his dad and yawned once more. "Clearly more because I'm still beat. Can I go back to bed or…"

"You aren't getting off the hook that easily," Spyro placed a paw on Savron's shoulder. "We've got some convexity training to do. In fact, you're late. Come on, let's get cracking!" Spyro ignored his son's protests and pulled Savron out of his room. He tossed his blanket back inside and shut the door. The adult purple then turned and took off, soaring down from the platform to the ground far below. Savron muttered irritably to himself and shuffled over to the edge of the platform.

The two heros' room was the most magnificent in all of the Dragon Temple; spanning three stories of an entire spire. The base of the tower was taken up by a mass of bookshelves and reading tables, creating their own personal library. No floors separated the bed chamber as instead a dozen huge platforms jutted out from the walls, stocked with trappings, dining tables and other furniture. There was enough in here for one to live in in comfort. Indeed, there was even a pantry as a shoot off from the dining platform. The most noticeable aspect of the room was the huge bed hanging from the ceiling on massive chains. Drapes hung around it to shroud it from outside view and below it hung a massive chandelier, a new addition to the room.

Savron stepped off of the platform that led to his room and momentarily wondered when he would be allowed to get his own quarters separate from his parents. He unfurled his wings to slow his fall and landed by the entrance. Savron grimaced and averted his eyes from the gaudy statue his dad had added to the decor. A bust of a dragon formed of hundreds of smaller dragons that flew together in unison, their many colours giving the bust a rainbow hue. He quickly walked past it, after his father.

Spyro waited for Savron to catch up and then led him to a nearby landing platform. Savron raised an eye ridge at this but followed, curious as to where his dad was taking him. Normally he trained in a modest room by the gym, but the sight of Spyro soaring over the Temple walls told a different story. Golden wings unfurled, Savron flapped after his father, a breeze conjured with wind magic lifting him. The two purple drakes spiraled down into the mushroom canopy near to the wall of the plateau. The six horned black dragoness Cynder sat in the clearing, watching them descend. She shook her silver horned head as they landed and eyed Spyro with amusement.

"Let me guess, he was sleeping in again?"

"Yep," Spyro chuckled and folded his wings behind him.

"Did you use the bucket of ice water like I suggested?"

"No, but I considered it."

"Hey, don't talk like I'm not here!"

"Oh, what? Did you hear that Spyro? I could have sworn I heard something?"

"Hm? Naw, you must be imagining things love. Can't hear anything myself."

"Oh hardy har," Savron rolled his eyes. "Can we get on with it? I have a date with my bed I want to catch up on."

"Good to see you're so eager," Cynder rose from where she sat with a smirk. "I bet you're wondering why we're out here…"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I know you like making my life miserable but did we really need to come down here to train? Where is the obstacle course anyway?"

Cynder and Spyro met one another's gazes and smirked. "Well, we're here because you're done with the obstacle course," Spyro said with a grin. "So no more running and dodging for you."

"Oh, sweet!" Savron beamed. Then his grin faded. "But then what am I supposed to do?"

"Good question," Cynder placed her paw on Savron's. "You are moving on to the important part of your training. We think your mind is honed enough that you can focus on the proper moral decisions while in your Dark Form. So we'll begin the actual tests by forcing you into that form so you can fight your way out of it."

Savron's eyes widened and his muzzle fell agape. "But… but that sounds like a terrible idea! The last time I was in Dark form I…"

"You destroyed that blood dragon and saved your friends," Spyro replied with a smile. "And then you forced your way out of it. With all this training we believe you can begin to achieve an even greater level of control."

"And besides, we will be here to keep you restrained and force you out of it should you fail," Cynder gave a reassuring nuzzle to Savron's cheek. "Don't worry, we know what we're doing."

Savron took several deep breaths and looked between them with concern. Then he nodded slowly. "Alright. So how do we do this?"

Spyro stepped forward, his brow furrowed. Darkness shot up his limbs to cover his body in shadows. His eyes turned bright white and glowed ominously from the depths of his blackened body. Savron took a rapid step back, his body freezing in terror at the sight of his father turned. Spyro smiled at this, though the soothing charm in it was deeply contrasted by the utter malice that emanated off him in waves.

"Don't worry, Sav, I'm still in control," he whispered and nodded his head. "Though entering this form feels… rather icky if I'm to be honest. Like I'm literally wearing a second skin," Spyro shuddered. "Anyway, I need you to open your mind to me. I'll show you where to find the convexity within yourself. That way you know where to find it if you ever need it, and what to avoid if you feel it approaching."

Savron gulped dubiously but obeyed, opening his mind. He physically took a step back as he felt a dark presence glide into his mind. Utter rage boiled off of the convexity infused mind of his father, which seared Savron as he attempted to draw close. The rage intensified at the attempt, and he felt all of Spyro's attention focus on him. For a moment, Savron was sure Spyro would smite him down, shatter his mind and body with a single strike for daring to approach him, but it never came. After a moment of mentally cowering, Savron opened himself back up to his father, to make mental contact.

_"Dad, why are you so… angry?"_

_"It is what this form brings upon me,"_ Spyro replied. Savron shivered at the deep, echoing tone of his voice, so different from his father's regular mind. _"My Dark Form brings upon great rage and hatred. It demands I destroy and ravage and seek revenge for the smallest of slights. It never calms or wavers in this pursuit."_

_"How can you control that?" _Savron asked, curious._ "How do you keep yourself from acting upon it?"_

_"I simply know better than to do so," _Spyro replied, his tone stark and hard._ "Convexity cannot be controlled through will alone, Savron. Knowledge is the key to defeating this foe. When I take this form all my other emotions fade away to be replaced by this all-consuming rage and anguish. This is indeed my feelings, though I may not show them. I focus my mind to constantly analyze my decisions and choices while in this form, going over them again and again until I am sure that it is the right thing to do. Even the most sound choices I must check, to see if it is stained by my rage. You must be aware that when in this form you lose all inhibition, all natural restraint from your mind to focus on the rage, lust and hatred that will fill you. You will only ever feel joy in this form if you act upon these base desires and you will hold no empathy towards others. Only self-imposed control applies here, a focused will that you must instinctively learn to bring forward whenever this form comes forth."_

_"And that's what you're going to show me, right?_

_"It is."_

Spyro's mind expanded within Savron and it was all the young purple could do to keep from quivering at the touch of his wrath. Then Spyro's mind focused, to weigh heavy on one part of Savron's mind.

_"Here. This is where you have secreted the urges that call upon Convexity. Feel that?"_

Savron followed the mental gesture and found the spot of darkness in his mind. As he approached it feelings of rage, pain, frustration, insecurity and lust began to grow in him and he quickly backed away.

_"If we are to begin, Savron," _Spyro's mind echoed as it retreated from his conscious._ "You must delve into that. Worry not, we will be here to hold you steady."_

Savron waited a long moment before he approached the spot of darkness once more, steadying himself before diving in deep into the blackest emotions he possessed.

He opened his eyes to find a normal Spyro and Cynder starting at him intently. A sneer creased Savron's muzzle.

"What are you staring at? I'm not exactly an object on display here! Don't know why I'm even bothering with this. This is such a waste of time. I just want to go to bed but you twits keep waking me up."

Spyro gave a wan grin. "Well it worked."

"Should we restrain him?"

"Probably a good idea."

"Oh no you fucking aren't!" Savron snarled, getting into a crouched position. "Don't you dare restrain me! How could you even think that I'm your fucking so... no, let go!"

Wraps of wind tied around his legs, to lash him in place before he could run. Spyro followed this up with bindings of earth and ice, as well as a rope of water that tied Savron's tail to a tree to keep him from diving into his shadow. The darkened Savron struggled against the bonds they made, purple fire forming in his muzzle.

"I said LET GO!" he roared and unleashed a blast of convexity at them. Spyro flashed black and a burst of convexity dissipated Savron's bolt. Cynder summoned another lash of wind to wrap it around Savron's muzzle, to hold it shut.

"Well, he is having a harder time controlling himself than I had hoped," the black dragoness shook her head sadly.

"I know, but then again this is his first try after all, love, so we can't expect him to get it right away."

"Nnnd nnw re clln mm uh fflr! Ww grt prnts!"

Cynder sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're not a failure, Savron. We know you can seize control Savron. Remember all of the training we put you through. You can do this."

Savron snarled in response and struggled against his bindings, purple smoke shooting from his nostrils. Spyro and Cynder watched him for a few minutes before they gave a simultaneous sigh. Cynder cast her mate a look and he shut his eyes, to focus his mind. The purple of his scales faded away to be replaced by a bright white hue that shone with a light of its own. He gazed down at his son, eyes bright gold as he raised a claw to Savron's forehead. Savron struggled away but couldn't escape the claw. A tap on the darkened scales of Savron's head caused the darkness to melt away, and left Savron looking around in a daze.

The bindings around him fell away and the young purple collapsed to the ground, staring up at the sky with unfocused eyes.

"You alright, Sav?" Spyro asked, the white glow fading away.

Savron looked up at his dad but didn't answer, seeming to stare right through him.

The pair sighed. "I think this might have been a bad idea, Cynder."

"Well, to be fair it was yours Spyro, so I should have seen that coming."

"Hey!" Spyro glared at her half-heartedly.

"I'mmm ulright ddd, thnx for ask…" Savron rolled onto his side with a mumble. The two looked to him with concern. A minute later he continued. "Stppp arguuing… my head huuurrrts."

Spyro glanced over to Cynder. "That's never happened before."

"You're right," Cynder bit the lip of her muzzle anxiously. "Normally one is rather clear headed when they leave dark form… do you think something's the matter with him!?" Cynder stepped forward to examine her comatose son with a worried expression. "Do… do you think the light magic could have messed with him?"

Spyro stepped forward as well, his muzzle pursed tightly as he gave the unmoving purple a light shake. "Well… it did knock him out the first time I used it. Then again I did that on purpose the first time around… I hope he's okay…"

Cynder swallowed hard. "Do you think we should take him to see Aquina?"

Spyro gave Savron another careful shake and then peered into Savron's eyes, peeling back an eye lid to gaze into them.

"I think he's asleep," the purple dragon let out a sigh of relief, looking back up at Cynder. "Must've tuckered him out."

The black dragoness gave a long sigh. "Well he did mention he didn't get a very good sleep," Cynder shrugged. "That could have something to do…"

A scream caused the two to jump and they whirled around to face Savron. The young purple now stood on all paws, casting about with wide unfocused eyes. He shivered uncontrollably, and a cold sweat glistened on his dirty scales. Cynder, her eyes wide, quickly approached him, only for Savron to bolt away. They cursed and made to follow, scrambling hastily after their fleeing son, shouting for him to stop.

They found him a few minutes later huddled against a mushroom, wings wrapped about himself. He looked at them in relief, quaking lightly. Cynder rushed forward and gave him a tight hug.

"Mom, dad, there you are! What happened?" he asked tensely, looking between his parents with wide eyes.

"We were just about to ask you that ourselves," Spyro rumbled, an eye ridge raised.

"You fell asleep after we forced you back into your normal self," Cynder cooed and nuzzled his face. "Then you woke up and started screaming. You ran away from us as if we were trying to attack you."

"I… I did," Savron frowned, his brow creased as he rubbed his head. "I remember this feeling of terror and monsters but I don't remember that. Now I just have this horrible headache," Savron closed his eyes and leaned back against the mushroom, moaning under his breath. The two heroes looked at each other once again. Cynder quickly shushed him to give him another tight squeeze.

"We should probably hold this off for a while longer," Spyro whispered to Cynder. "Whatever just happened now will surely happen again if we have him do it again and I don't think we should put Sav through that."

"No!" Savron rose and shook his head. "I'm… I'm fine. I just feel tired, that's all. We can try again. I just… I just wasn't ready for it that time."

Spyro pondered for a moment, turning to examine Savron once more. Then he shook his head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea Savron. This is already a dangerous experiment we're doing and we need to you to be able to focus, and being tired won't help that. We'll delay the next practice for a couple days so you can go get some sleep."

Savron nodded slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Sounds great. Won't argue with that," Savron rose and hobbled between his parents. He made his way back to the clearing they had been training in and prepared to take off. Spyro and Cynder watched him as he struggled to get his wings into alignment with concerned frowns. After a moment Spyro strode up behind his puzzled son and picked him up by the scruff of the neck and heaving him over his shoulder. Savron let out a startled cry as he was bodily shunted into the air and plopped down on his dad's back. He glared at the larger purple, his fangs bared in a sneer.

"Dad, I can take… take care of myself," he yawned. "Stop babying me."

"Clearly you couldn't, because it was taking you longer than a minute to straighten your wings out," Spyro chuckled as he took off. He grimaced as he took off, forced to use both wind magic and earth magic to power himself upwards. "You've gotten really heavy Savron. What've you been eating?"

"Whole deer. Bones and all," Savron mumbled with a sarcastic smirk. "I'm seventeen now… dad, I'm not a hatchling anymore. Besides, what would the others think if… if they saw me riding on your back like a newborn?"

"Tell them you got knocked out on an adventure or something and that we carried you back to your room to ground you," Spyro winked. "Happens often enough that they'll believe it."

"Fair enough," Savron yawned and slumped against his dad's back. "It would give me a good excuse for why I slept all day."

"It would at that."

The trio circled upwards slowly, Cynder eyeing her son carefully from above as they made their ascent. Savron shut his eyes as Spyro flew him back up to his room, hoping he could maybe catch a bit of a snooze on the way up.

"Savron. What are you doing, Savron?"

"I'm trying to sleep."

"You've disappointed me Savron. I thought you could do better."

Savron's eyes snapped open and he glared down at Spyro. "Dad, seriously, stop it, I know I'm not exactly the greatest son but lay off."

Spyro started and looked up at Savron, his violet eyes hurt. "What are you talking about, Savron? I didn't say anything. And you're a great son! You're bit obnoxious at times, but so is Sparx and I love him."

Savron's brow furrowed as he gazed at Spyro with a look of consternation. He looked up at Cynder, who was eyeing the exchange with confusion as well. Then Savron shook his head and flopped back down. "Sorry. I must have been dozing off."

"That's alright, Sav. Just try and get some rest, and everything will be fine."

Savron nodded to that and listened as Spyro and Cynder began chatting about what they thought had just happened to Savron and began theorizing as to what they could do about it. The sound slowly faded away until he couldn't even make out the individual words of their conversation.

"I expected more, from the son of the two greatest heroes of the land."

Savron stiffened once more and cracked an eye open, to gaze at his parents. They were still busy with their discussion, going over whether or not they should go to the Guardians about this. He glanced furtively around and wondered where the voice was coming from.

"Turns out you're nothing more than a wannabe. You and your 'adventures.' You're just trying to emulate your parents aren't you? How pathetic. A true purple would find his own path and not leech off of the success of his father and mother."

Savron shut his eyes and pretended nothing was amiss as he searched for the source. He found none. A shiver ran down his body as it continued, telling him what a failure he was. Savron quelled the hammering of his heart and considered his options. He cracked open his eyes and looked at his parents. He considered telling them about the voice only for a grip of icy terror to stab into him. Memories of the days he spent guarded after his first convexity outbreak returned to him; days of being locked away in his room, unable to see his friends or go exploring. His scales crawled at the thought of it, the feeling not helped by the discussion the two where having about him.

_"No, whatever this is I'll stick it out."_ Savron nodded. _"After all, it's not real, it's not like it can hurt me."_

"I wish you luck in that endeavour, Savron, though given how frail you truly are I doubt you will succeed without help."

Savron snarled lowly at the challenge. He wouldn't need help. Not for something as trivial as this. So focused was Savron on finding the source of the voice he didn't even notice his parents had entered their room until they landed in front of his door.

"Alright Sav, time to get off," Spyro chuckled. "I know you've enjoyed the ride but you're getting to be a bit too heavy for me."

Savron slid off him and stumbled into his room. He gave a weak thanks to his parents before shutting the door behind him. Spyro and Cynder gave each other one last concerned glance before they shrugged and headed off to their study to read together, looking over their shoulders every now and again as they descended.

Savron took hold of his crumpled blanket with his jaws and made his way back to his bed. The voice whispered sibilantly as Savron dragged himself over to his bed, hissing about how bad his posture was. Savron did his best to ignore it as he made his way back to the bed, eyes sagging. He had only just settled onto the bed when movement caught his eye. Savron followed it only to freeze in place, his whole body stiffening in terror. A huge shadowy figure sat in the corner of his room, looming all the way up to the roof. Savron stared, his muzzle open as he watched as the shadow formed fangs, horns, claws and a pair of molten white eyes. Savron shut his eyes tight and resisted the urge to hide among his pillows. He slowly stood, conjured lightning around him and approached the shadow cautiously.

Then he struck, a spark of lightning lashing out at the shadow. The figure disintegrated as the light touched it, revealing it to be nothing more than an open closet. Relief filled Savron and he slumped down on his haunches. He slogged forward towards the closet to close it tight. Then he returned to his bed. He settled down once more when the silence struck him. The voice was gone. Savron waited for many long minutes for it to return, but it never did. There was only the sound of the wind, the chirp of birds and his parents chatting a floor below. Savron breathed a joyous sigh and slumped down on his bed, to curl up in his blankets and pillows as he let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Tirren looked herself over in the mirror one last time to adjust the chains attached to her twisted horns and add some polish to her scales. Then, satisfied with the results she turned to find a scarf to wear. She made the short trek across her room, the floors clean but not bare of trinkets. Books, quills and parchment was scattered about her desk area and by the balcony window. Colourful baubles were cast indiscriminately about on the floor by her bed and wardrobe, small, unique puzzle toys given as gifts to help while away the time. The sunglobes were placed carefully about the room to create a balance of light for when the thick blue drapes of the window were closed. The silver mass of pillows that made up Tirren's bed sat but a few feet away from the balcony, with a stack of books from the library beside it. One such book was held open by a small spiral bit of woodwork with hooks and beads on it that formed a complex puzzle that Tirren was still trying to work out.

The green dragoness opened her wardrobe and searched through the cloaks, chokers and tail rings to find a suitable scarf. She picked out a deep forest green one and tossed it carelessly about her neck. Tirren shut the wardrobe and returned to the small vanity mirror her brother, Terath, had recently bought her. A few moments passed as Tirren adjusted the scarf to look stylistically careless and then took a step back to look at herself in the mirror. She took a few breaths and then glanced at herself in the mirror to flash a brilliant smile.

"Hm… no, bit too sultry," she shook her head and sighed. She adjusted her pose and lowered her golden tail-ring slightly and tried again, and then once more. Tirren gave a nod of approval, pleased by the look. Then she picked up the satchel sitting by the vanity mirror and leaned her head under it. She grimaced at the weight of the books inside but put the thought aside as she headed towards the door to her room.

Exiting the room Tirren breathed deeply, to enjoy the fresh air. She turned left for no particular reason and joined the slow flow of students to wander about the Dragon Temple. Sunlight gushed through the windows, having just passed its zenith by. The warm, orange light that filtered through the windows was juxtaposed by the chill air that flowed through the Temple. Tirren shivered as she passed by a large rune that had been painted on one of the walls, the magic circle having just been erected by a group of ice and wind dragon staff members.

"Ah, I was wondering when those would finally go up," Tirren sighed happily as she left the fridge area of the new ice-wind rune. "And just in time too, the heat was becoming unbearable."

Tirren came to a stop and looked around, wondering what she should do with her time. She debated going to the library but dismissed the idea as she had been there almost every day this week. She caught sight of a fire dragon walking by, only for an idea to strike. She grinned and turned back the way she had come, to find the staff quarters. It took her a few minutes of walking and one short flight but she soon found herself in front of the room of Flame and Ember, the parents of Igneous.

She cleared her throat and straightened her scarf. Then she knocked on the door with three firm strikes. The door opened and Tirren took a hasty step back as Ember emerged. The pink dragoness beamed down at her, water dripping from her plump body.

"Oh, hello there Tirren. Good to see you again! I'm guessing you're here to see Igneous?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if he was feeling well enough to go on a walk with me?"

Ember's eyes twinkled at the suggestion and her smile widened. "Well you're in luck, he's up and about right now."

Tirren grinned. "Great!"

"Though he isn't here right now. I believe he went down to the Gym to exercise. You'll have to go meet him there."

"Ah," Tirren huffed, slightly disappointed. "Well thank you for telling me Ember. Have a good day."

"You as well, Tirren," Ember nodded and withdrew back into the room, shutting the door lightly.

Tirren bowed her thanks and then turned to find the gym. She struggled through crowded hallways of dragons and down three flights of stairs before she found herself at the doors to the gymnasium. She slipped through the female showers and stepped out into the padded floor of the gym. The roof of the room towered six stories into the air and was wide enough to line up a half dozen large houses side by side along each wall. The grounds of the gymnasium were a circuit of rock-climbing walls, weight lifting systems, racing tracks and rope jungle-gyms. Hanging from the roof were obstacles between which dragons soared and platforms where they could land to rest.

The place was packed with people: from students, to off duty guards, to servants; all of whom were competing for prime workout spots. The air was filled with shouts, grunts, chatter and laughter as Tirren took in the sight with a smile. After a moment she focused her attention once more and scanned the crowd for the face of a familiar fire dragon. She found him resting on one of the flight platforms. Tirren jogged onto the race track, got a running start and took off. She flew two circuits around the gym before she was at the correct level to settle by Igneous, who had seen her approaching.

"Hey Tirren. What're you doing here?" Igneous shuffled over to give her some room to land. "Planning on having a little work out as well?"

"No, actually, I've been looking for you," Tirren settled down beside him with a smirk.

Igneous blinked in confusion. "Really? Alright. I take it you wanted to visit me, only to find out I left, right?"

Tirren shrugged. "Something along those lines. I was actually hoping you would be able to go on a walk with me. I've been meaning to go down to Darrowlight for some time, and I thought that it'd be a good opportunity for us to talk," she offered him a pleasant smile. Igneous pondered for a moment, before he nodded slowly.

"That actually sounds like fun. Sure. I wasn't getting far in my exercise after all," he gestured to himself and where he sat, grinning.

Tirren snickered and nodded. "I could tell. You barely looked like you've even tried."

"Yeah, I got one lap in before I realized I didn't want to run anymore. Turns out I wasn't feeling as great as I thought."

"But you're still feeling well enough for a walk, right?"

Igneous nodded. Tirren returned the gesture and then rose, giving him a wink. "Well, let's be on our way then," Tirren dove off of the platform, falling a short distance before she unfurled her wings to glide down. Igneous followed close behind. Together they headed for the change rooms, each dipping quickly through theirs to emerge on the other side. Then they made for the Temple Entrance.

Tirren caught Igneous glancing over at her as they walked, his grey eyes searching her. She straightened slightly, to walk with a bit more confidence.

"Aside from being sick, what have you been up to lately, Igneous?" she met his gaze evenly.

"Not much, honestly," Igneous shrugged. "A bit of reading but other than that nothing spectacular."

Tirren dipped her head in acknowledgment. "Same here. What have you been reading?"

Igneous opened his muzzle and then paused. "Uh, nothing you'd care about."

Tirren cast him a sly smile. "Is that so? Are you sure, I'm interested in a lot of different genres."

"No, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be," Igneous coughed. "How about you? Anything interesting happen to you?"

Tirren sighed inwardly and accepted the topic change. She started to respond by listing off some of the more interesting things that happened, such as her search through convexity books, finding a new favourite series of novels in the library and other such minor things. Igneous asked if that was it, since those all seemed rather mundane. Tirren felt a small pang and quickly searched her mind for something more interesting.

"Well I got a vanity mirror from my brother as an end of the year gift," she started. "I also asked Voltlyn if she could do a portrait for me… Oh and Terra…" Tirren stopped herself, and quickly backpedaled. "Ehm, sorry. There was that terrific adventure with Savron down in the tunnels under Darrowlight."

Igneous eyed her with suspicious amusement. "Terrific adventure? That's not something I expected to hear from you."

Tirren chuckled. "Well, it was terrific by Savron's standards. Ignoring the usual shenanigans that he gets into it was relatively good."

Igneous paused for a moment, and then shrugged. "Guess that makes sense. Speaking of which, what did I miss during that adventure? Savron told me about a journal but…"

"Oh, he did?" Tirren snickered. "I bet he gave you his theory about it too. Rather silly, right? A plot to get into the temple with a magic egg? Seriously?"

"I thought it sounded plausible."

Tirren paused and glanced to the red fire dragon. He stared back at her, straight faced. "Oh, well, yeah it is plausible, Igneous," Tirren stammered for a moment before getting back into the stride of speaking. "And it is by no means unsuspicious, but Savron seemed to be just jumping to conclusions with that theory. He has no solid proof other than it happened to appear close to the massacre, which was weeks later."

"I guess, but it does sound far too suspicious for me to believe it wasn't some kind of plot," Igneous shrugged.

Tirren did so as well. "Fine, I won't try to convince you of otherwise."

"Anyway, what else happened during the adventure? Did I miss out a lot?"

The emerald dragoness smirked and cleared her throat to tell him what happened during the adventure. Igneous laughed when she told him about the way Savron shrieked when the bugs had first emerged and stared at her wide eyed as she recounted the retreat from the apes. He nodded in approval when she told him about the bottleneck they used to crush the apes.

"Yeah, that sounds like Savron. Comes up with an attack plan but doesn't tell anyone until the last minute," Igneous chortled with a shake of his head.

"It was really obnoxious of him," Tirren huffed. "Though I get that he didn't really have the time."

Igneous nodded and then fell silent, Tirren following suit. They settled down on the road leading to Darrowlight and strode into it side by side. Tirren cast sidelong glances at the burly fire drake, who stared straight ahead at the town before them. The silence grew long and strained and Tirren found herself becoming lost in thought.

"_I wonder what he'd say if I told him about Terrador's offer?"_ Tirren wondered. "_He'd be supportive I know but would he be excited? Or just blasé about it?" Would he be surprised or nonplused?_ Tirren looked him over, only to catch his eye. He glanced back at her and smiled, causing her to glance away with a light flush. A thought struck her and she resisted the urge to look back at him, the red dragon still watching her silently. "_I bet he's in the Guardianship program too! Of course how could I be so stupid! He's one of the top students, he's an expert with his element and he's known the Guardians and learned from them for all his life. He'd be a perfect candidate."_

Tirren gulped and felt a stew of emotions bubbled to life inside of her. Excitement, eagerness and even a touch of dread filled her. She studied the last one closely, wondering why she'd feel so anxious about that, especially in regards to Igneous. Tirren analyzed her thoughts and was debating whether or not she felt inferior to Igneous when a familiar voice forced her back to reality.

"OW! Stop! Please! My wing isn't meant to bend that way!"

Igneous and Tirren turned to stare down a nearby alley, only for their muzzles to fall open at the sight of Sleet surrounded by a gang of six thugs. They had him backed against a wall, one having pinned him down by taking hold of the small blue dragon's wing in his jaws. Laughter reverberated down the alleyway, accompanied by spiteful remarks about how small and weak Sleet was and how he should probably crawl back into his eggshell where he belonged.

Muzzles peeled back from fangs as Tirren and Igneous stomped down the alley towards the thugs. The bullies heard them approach and turned to face them, sneering at the sight. Recognition grew on Igneous' expression as he neared the thugs.

"I recall their faces," he hissed to Tirren as they approach. "But I can't remember from where."

"Same," Tirren nodded. "I think they're from the Temple."

"Well, look who's here, Ash-for-brains and Boulder-thighs!" the yellow female leader snickered, sitting down on her haunches. "You here to pick up your hatchling? Cause we're not done playing with him yet."

Sleet sighed in relief. "Tirren, Igneous! Oh thank the ancestors!"

Tirren glowered. "Let him go, right now."

The lightning dragoness groaned and rolled her eyes. "Would you get a look at this entitled bitch? She thinks she has the right to boss us around!"

The wind dragon twisting Sleet's wing let go but put a paw on the back of his neck to keep him down. "Yeah, just because Torch isn't around anymore doesn't mean you can intimidate us. So how about you split before we split you."

Igneous and Tirren looked to one another at the mention of Torch's name, now knowing who they were dealing with. They then turned back to the group with a sneer.

"You really think you can make us?" Tirren gestured to Igneous. "Cause I've kicked at least one of your asses before in a duel and if you remember, Igneous helped Torch's face get acquainted with the ground last year."

The thugs hesitated for a moment before they returned a smirk to the pair. "Yeah, I bet we can. Three to one is pretty good odds if you ask me."

Sleet opened his muzzle to correct them, only to shut it when he realized he should probably keep quiet on that account.

The six thugs spread out, quickly moving to cut Tirren and Igneous off from the exit. The green and red dragons shifted so that they were rump to rump facing their foes, dust and smoke emanating from their muzzles respectively. Sleet, now free from the wind dragon's hold scampered back but stopped his retreat a short distance away, frost forming on his muzzle as he searched the crowd, breath ragged. A long moment passed as they evaluated one another, eyes on the search for the best spot to strike.

A fire draken struck first, a fountain of hot ash and smoke from her muzzle aimed straight for Tirren's face. The earth dragoness gasped and shunted her head to the side, conjuring a small wall of earth between her and the fire dragoness. The three on Tirren's end rushed in, seeing their opening. Igneous glanced back at Tirren, concerned, which gave the rest of the thugs the opportunity they needed.

Igneous roared a blaze of fire as a burst of wind took him off his paws. He bellowed a cloud of smoke in the direction of his foes and drew in heat to protect himself. Behind him he heard the thwap of Tirren's stone shards striking dragonscale and hisses of pain that followed. He intensified the heat in front of him in a bid to drive the thugs away as he rose to follow up with a wash of fire.

Abruptly Tirren felt her paws give out under her, the cobbled floor suddenly becoming slick with ice. She struck the pane of frozen water with a thud and heard similar cries from all around her. She struggled to her paws and looked around, wanting to thank Sleet for the attack. She paused when she saw Sleet flailing on the slick ice as well, and the slim ice dragoness standing at the alley entrance. The ice draken glared through her silk mask, her voice lashing out like a whip.

"What are you morons doing?"

Tirren's muzzle creased into a sneer. "Defending ourselves from your…"

"Not you," Wintra snapped, casting a quick glare at Tirren. She turned her eyes back to the thugs. "You lot are so simple that you'd attack a wall if you thought it looked at you funny."

The plane of ice evaporated allowing everyone to rise. The thugs rose quickly and gathered, the lightning dragoness speaking up.

"These two attacked us first! We…"

"Quiet," Wintra snorted. "I'm not in the mood to listen to your stories. Get back up to the Temple. These lot aren't worth your time."

The thugs cast Tirren, Igneous and Sleet hard glances but obeyed, filing out of the alley to take off one by one. Tirren sighed in relief and glanced over herself, Igneous and Sleet for injuries and found none. Then she turned to thank Wintra for intervening, only to find she had left and was gone from sight.

Sleet gulped and then walked between Igneous and Tirren, giving them a weary smile. "Thanks you two. You saved my rump right there."

"You're welcome," Igneous slapped Sleet's back fondly. "I'm glad we were able to help."

"What did they even want from you, Sleet?" Tirren looked back to him, an eye ridge raised.

"Oh, well, um," Sleet mumbled, glancing down to the ground. "I don't know. They just grabbed me and started acting like jerks."

"Well, if they were Torch's gang they probably recognized you and wanted to pick on you," Igneous shrugged. "Wouldn't put it past them."

"Yeah, same," Tirren frowned and gave a nod of agreement. "Though that begs the question as to why Wintra intervened like that."

"I must admit that was rather strange," Sleet agreed, his brow creasing as well. "I never would have expected that from her."

Igneous shrugged, having no answer of his own.

After a moment of pondering Tirren stood up and huffed. "Let's get out of this alley and back on our walk."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Igneous smiled, rising with her.

"Can I join you?" Sleet asked and glanced back at the alley as they entered the street once more. "I don't want to get jumped again."

"Sure," Igneous gave Sleet a light push. "Sounds like a great idea."

Tirren let out a small sigh and shrugged. "Alright, why not? We were just going for a walk though, nothing special."

"That's fine. I already got what I came for," Sleet shifted the satchel around his neck slightly for emphasis.

"Well then, how about we go through the bazaar first?" Igneous suggested, leading the way. "That place is always a fun romp…"

**Characters Owned by Dardarax**

Savron, Igneous, Tirren, Sleet.

Wintra.

So, quick heads up, I'm going to be using 'Draken' as a word for Female Drake to help vary up the whole 'dragon' 'dragoness' or 'drake' thing. xD

Not going to go into too much detail with this note. Just going to say that this was a fun chapter to write and that's partially because I got to experiment with Tirren's feminine side. XD Really haven't had a chance to do that before. :P

Next chap will be up on September 12. The two week schedule will continue until I deem that this story is getting in the way of my homework. If that happens I'll go for a three week to see how that works out.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! :D


	7. Companions

Chapter 7: Companions

By: Dardarax

_Disclaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do__** not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Dragon Temple, Warfang or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro franchise. So a man walks into a bar and orders a drink. A shepherd walks over to the man and asks him where he came from, the man doesn't reply, continuing to drink his beer. The shepherd, curious, asks why he's being so sheepish. The man then gets up and kicks Dardarax in the crotch for making such a bad pu-UUUUGH! Ooooooowwww… __My characters are listed at the bottom…_

_The feeling of Torch's paw on her flank sent quakes though her entire body. Voltlyn did her best to keep a calm face but his touch caused her stomach to revolt. The red dragon bellowed out laughter along with his gang, openly talking of their most recent spree of beatings, crimes and plots while sitting in the kitchen, not fearing the cowering crowd about them. Torch pulled her closer, his grip firm like a vice, holding her there despite her vain attempts to escape. _

_ The laughter stopped and Torch turned to gaze at her, his muzzle wide and his eyes filled with the most loathsome of fire. Voltlyn shut her eyes and pretended not to notice the way he looked at her. Bile rose into her throat as his paw ran over her chest and stomach, lower and lower and lower…_

_ Torch led the way through the hallway, Voltlyn stumbling along behind him, as if chained. Her limbs moved forward, towards the door, unrelenting despite all her attempts to turn and flee. She could see his excitement clearly and hot wetness trickled down her cheeks. Voltlyn held back a sob, Torch opening the door where a bed of nails lay. She stepped in, screaming the whole way as she felt his paws and chest on her once again. _

Voltlyn's own shriek awoke her and she tumbled from her bed into a heap. She curled up into a ball to protect herself as she waited for the claws and the snarls; the fangs and the tail. It took her several minutes of sobbing before she realized that they never came and frightfully looked around. There was no sign of her master anywhere. Relief flooded through her and she collapsed to the ground to whimper weakly. Another dozen minutes passed before she rose and wiped the tears away.

A greasy itch slicked her scales and she hastily stumbled towards the small tub curtained off in a small closet by the bed. She turned the valve and fell into it, still sniffling as she let the hot water run over her. Voltlyn scrubbed at herself lightly, the feeling of him against her refusing to go away. It was only once the tub was filled near to the brink that Voltlyn found the will to turn the water off. For a while she just floated, staring up at the ceiling and letting the feeling of weightlessness consume her.

The grey dawn light blossomed into full morning, though Voltlyn's wide and unfocused eyes did not notice the brightening colours for a long time. It was a drop of chill water onto her tail that woke her. The hot water had already cooled, causing Voltlyn to shiver and draw her fully back to reality. With a sigh she pulled herself up, shaking herself dry.

"I still think of him as my master," she said finally, looking back to her bed of brightly coloured pillows, now scattered throughout her room. "Even after nearly a year I can't escape him."

Voltlyn swallowed back another sob and shook her head firmly. She would not let herself shed another tear. Not today. She drained the tub and walked back out into her room with as much resolve as she could muster. She made her way over to the music box that stood in the corner of her room and picked out her favourite crystal. She looked it over; wanting to make sure that the rare device wasn't damaged before she inserted the crystal into the slot. Voltlyn sat back as the old, battered machine thrummed to life, the music floating freely about the room.

The string and woodwind sent her spiraling back. She could see a warm yellow face, an older dragon spinning her about the room in a crazy dance. She could see the tools and instruments of his craft and feel the wood in her paws as she held it steady for him. And she could feel a satisfying reverberation in her paws as the box shook from each hammer fall or grind of a saw.

The music ended and Voltlyn opened her eyes and wiped away the moisture, smiling fondly. She removed the crystal and placed it back into the box, whispering her thanks to her father once more. Then, feeling light of heart she strode over to her wardrobe to find something more stylish to wear. She picked out a pair of silver bangles for her horns and a wispy cloak to drape over her back. Voltlyn struggled into the later but managed without any help. Once she was done she looked into the small mirror on her wall, examining how the accessories looked.

In the mirror Voltlyn could just make out the few remaining paintings placed against her walls. Looking through the mirror at her room Voltlyn realized how little she actually owned. Other than the mirror, her wardrobe, the tub, the bed and her music box there were almost no decorations to be found anywhere. Voltlyn glanced away from the mirror to look at her bare bones room with a small frown, a sense of dissatisfaction swelling inside of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of a bell rang out, followed by a low growl which emanated from her stomach. Voltlyn perked up, snickering at how her stomach seemed to recognize the sound of the breakfast bell.

"Oh," she murmured, glancing out the window. "I guess I should be in the kitchen now, shouldn't I?"

Voltlyn stepped out into the crowd and locked the door shut behind her. The topaz hued dragoness followed the flow of bodies moving through the halls towards the kitchen, enjoying the feeling of being lost in the crowd completely unnoticed. The stream of dragonesses deposited her by the buffet table and Voltlyn eagerly scooped up the last of the shredded spicy chicken and one of the remaining steaks before turning to search for a table. The females were the first to have arrived at the kitchen, Voltlyn somehow having managed to catch the rush just after breakfast was announced. She searched the rapidly filling tables for an empty table. She took a seat at the nearest one and eyed her food and poked it, attempting to work up the appetite to actually eat.

"Hey Voltlyn, I see you've gotten the last of the good food."

Voltlyn started as Tirren sat down across from her, her tray piled up with scraps of meat and a quarter loaf of bread.

"Oh, hello Tirren," Voltlyn smiled. "If you want you can have some. I don't think I'll be eating it all."

"No, you can keep it," Tirren smirked. "It's my fault for not getting here on time. I woke up to the breakfast bell and had to scramble to get dressed. By the time I got here most of it was already gone. Though I see I'm still earlier than the boys," Tirren smirked as the males started to file in. All of them groaned in near perfect unison at the sight of the ransacked buffet.

Tirren snickered. "I can't remember the last time they beat us here," she shook her head, the bells hanging off of her twisted horns ringing. "And they put less effort into their attire than I did."

Savron approached them a few moments later and sat down with his platter of scraps. "Well hello there ladies," he winked. "Don't suppose one of you could spare me a chicken leg? I don't exactly have all that much this time around."

Tirren rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that, Savron. You know as well as we do that the trays will be replaced soon," Voltlyn paused, having just started to hand Savron a leg of chicken. She quickly returned it to her plate. "and maybe you should start getting up on time if you want the food early."

Savron shrugged and yawned as he fumbled for his food. "I've been trying, but I've been having a hard time sleeping. The v… noise from my parents' room gets really distracting."

Tirren rolled her eyes and smarmily replied about how he should stop trying to hide his plotting for more adventures. Savron grumbled his response but was drowned out by Sleet, Typhous, Lyrith and Igneous dropping their plates on the table. Sleet and Igneous both gave similar complaints to Savron while Typhous simply looked at Voltlyn's and Tirren's comparably larger array of food hungrily. Lyr, however, simply dug in, stuffing his face right into the meat scraps and grape jam without a care. The group watched Lyrith eat with amusement for a moment before returning back to their own meals.

Voltlyn shook her head and smiled weakly at the sight of the white dragon's smeared face before looking back down at her food. She grimaced, picking at it as she unsuccessfully tried to bring herself to eat. She knew she should yet she could never have more than a nibble before she found the food had gone back down to her plate.

"You alright Voltlyn?"

Voltlyn looked up at the sound of the voice to gaze into Tirren's concerned face. She gave a wan smile and told her she felt fine. Tirren looked down at her barely touched food with raised eye ridge.

"Are you sure? Because you don't look like you're alright."

The others, having finished their own meals glanced up at the exchange, brows creased with worry.

"Yeah, I mean you have hardly touched your food."

"A loss of appetite does often follow distress, so that would make sense."

"You're welcome to talk to us about it if you want, Voltlyn."

Voltlyn's smile grew more and more strained as each insisted that she could talk with them. A tightness grew in her chest and Voltlyn quickly stood, pushing the plate into the middle of the table.

"I'm feeling fine. Really," Voltlyn forced her grin back open. "I'm just not hungry. You guys can have it. I should get going."

Before any of them could argue Voltlyn turned and stepped out of the kitchen, keeping herself from walking too quickly. She only let out a sigh once she was a good couple rooms away from the kitchen, giving a genuine smile.

"Thanks guys, but I'm really not interested in talking," she whispered to herself as she rejoined the crowd. "At least not right now."

Voltlyn followed the flow of students once more, simply walking and enjoying the view of the Temple. The bright white walls, the vibrant coloured carpets, the elegant statues and the murals of dragons and battles were all a sight to behold. Each sight swept her away from her thoughts and she eagerly admired all of the smallest details in an attempt to soak it all in.

Her revelry came to a stop when a familiar sight caught her eye. It was a large, plump yellow dragoness scrubbing one of the carpets by a huge bucket of soapy water. Voltlyn beamed once more and skipped over to meet her.

"Mom!" Voltlyn shouted as she halted by the bucket of water. Dyama, who had been focused on scrubbing away a particularly nasty spot on the carpet jumped up in surprise.

"Voltlyn!" she gasped, hugging her daughter sloppily. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! It's so nice to see you again!"

"Do you want some help, mom?" Voltlyn eyed the spot she had been scrubbing with a smile.

"Oh no, don't bother with silly old me! You go and have fun, dear."

Voltlyn smiled and stepped up to help her anyway, shrugging. "I don't have anything to do right now anyway, mom. And besides I'd like to spend a bit of time with you."

Dyama opened her muzzle to argue and then smiled, dabbing at her eyes with a rag. "Alright. I won't say no to my little girl."

The topaz dragoness beamed and strapped on an apron and got to work. Together they managed to scrub away that spot and then set off to the next mess they had to clean. Dyama chatted boisterously with Voltlyn, gossiping about the teachers and Guardians and visiting nobles endlessly. Voltlyn in turn listened and nodded, simply enjoying being in her mom's company once again. They stopped by the art gallery to mop the floors and Voltlyn conversed with her mother about the various portraits, mechanical devices and sculptures on display there. They then went to the kitchen to help clean up after the students and then retreated down to the great hall to tidy up a mishap involving a trolley of tuna.

"Voltlyn, I'm so very glad we were able to have this lovely talk," Dyama chirped as they dumped all of the fish heads into a large bin. "You are such a darling."

"We should really do this more often."

"We should, but I spend so much time working that there really isn't much time for anything else. And I don't want you helping me with my work all the time," Dyama wiped her paws clean and then nuzzled Voltlyn's cheek. "You should be going out and having fun with your friends, like you used to when you were younger."

Voltlyn nodded slowly, a small frown on her face as she tried to recall back before her mother had started gambling. Vague images of the faces of young dragonesses surfaced and she could just remember following after them to play in the streets of Warfang. There were toy balls, dolls and long talks about the most inane of things, which seemed so important at the time. Yet she could not piece any of it together into a coherent string of events.

Dyama noticed Voltlyn's frown and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Do you remember Lucy? Or Typhia? Or Flaresse? You four used to be thick as thieves. I remember a time where I couldn't even see you without one of them being around."

Voltlyn smiled, a few more memories surfacing. "I do remember them. It's… it's just that it was so long ago…"

"It must have been seven years now since the four of you were all together," Dyama sighed fondly. "I miss the days when I could always see that smile on your face…"

"Mom…" Voltlyn sat down next to Dyama. "Whatever happened to them? I mean, I know why we stopped hanging out but… but I don't know what happened to them now. Do you…?"

"Well," Dyama tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "I think that they broke up not long after you left. At least Lucy did because I haven't heard from her in a while. Though last I did hear of her she was living with a Shadow Dragon Clan. Typhia and Flaresse are still buddies though. I think Typhia is a Warfang Guard and Flaresse is a maid to one of the nobles, though I don't know which one."

"Oh," Voltlyn gave a faint smile. "Well, I'm glad to hear that they're all out living their lives. I wonder if they remember me?"

"Oh who could forget you, darling?" Dyama asked, hugging Voltlyn lightly. "Of course they do!"

Voltlyn was silent, not quite believing her mother but nodding along anyway.

"Would you like to meet up with them someday? I'm sure I can get a hold of Typhia and Flaresse. I'm sure we could…"

"Maybe," Voltlyn mused. "Though we didn't leave on good terms…"

"All the more reason to meet with them again," Dyama beamed. "You should all get back together so that you have good memories of one another, rather than sour ones. Apologize for past wrongs. Yes, I think this is a great idea, I'll see what I can do!"

Voltlyn gave a stiff nod as Dyama produced a small booklet and began scribbling a note to herself in it. A strange feeling strained her chest, a tense, but light anxiety, as well as a feeling of fond warmth as more memories came to her. She looked to Dyama as she put her booklet away and gave her back the apron.

"Thanks mom, this was a really fun time we had."

"It was indeed, darling," Dyama gave her snout another nuzzle. "You take care now. And do feel free to stop by my room for a chat every now and again. Nights are the best time to find me."

"Alright," Voltlyn started towards the sunlight filled entrance of the Great Hall and gave a short wave with the tip of her tail. Voltlyn caught one last glimpse of Dyama sitting and watching her before she turned the corner into the Gardens, the feeling of tense warmth returning. Then she vanished from sight.

Voltlyn wandered the Temple grounds for a long time, soaking up the sights and the warm sun, yet a feeling of emptiness now replaced the warmth that once filled her. She watched the groups of students chatter passed, flocking to interesting sights and discussing things that she could almost make out. Voltlyn sat alone for a long time, wondering why she felt so lonely, despite the mass of people about her. She searched each group, feeling an urge to join in before realizing that she didn't know where to start.

Finally Voltlyn stood, having noticed the time and flew up to the female corridor to meet with Typhous. She found the grey dragon outside her room with a well-dressed male swan behind him. The swan gave a bow as Voltlyn approached, his feathered arms folded in front of him.

"There you are, Voltlyn," Typhous beamed. "You're just in time. This is Baron Till, he's the one who requested the… inverted painting."

"Quite. I hear you have finished it, my lady," Till squawked, his voice shockingly harsh given his race. "So I am here to ensure it is up to standard and, if so, claim it."

"Of course," Voltlyn flushed at being called a lady and gave a stiff bow herself. She turned and hastily opened the door to her room, to lead them inside. They stopped by the painting in question and the swan looked it over critically, his eyes scanning the strange surface of the inverted world created on the canvas. Voltlyn and Typhous stood back for a solid minute, watching the swan before any words were spoken.

"This will do," Baron Till huffed finally. "It is not perfect but I did not expect it to be. So far you are the only one to capture my vision to any degree. I shall take it."

Voltlyn sagged with relief, a full smile crossing her face.

"Excellent, shall I call a servant?" Typhous asked only to be waved off by the baron.

"No, I shall take care of this myself. You needn't trouble yourselves," The baron turned and raised a hand. The feathery fingers shifted through the air as he carved out glowing runes in a small circular pattern. He chirped some incantations under his breath as he did so, his eyes shut in concentration. Then he opened his hand and the pattern of runes flashed to life.

From the flash a trio of strange bipedal reptilian apes emerged, small batwings fluttering. Till hissed an order and the imps got to work, hefting the painting up and carrying it out the door. Till turned and gave them a bow, telling them that the payment would arrive soon and then left. Typhous and Voltlyn watched him go for a short while, eyes wide with amazement.

"Well, I never would have suspected Till to be a wizard," Typhous chuckled after a moment of silence. "Then again, I have never met one in the flesh myself so I couldn't have known."

Voltlyn nodded in agreement.

"Still, I should probably take that class someday," Typhous eyes grew distant. "Did you know that they offered wizardry courses here? I'm shocked how few actually take Aideen up on that class."

"That is rather strange," Voltlyn agreed half-heartedly. Typhous glanced over to her, an eye ridge raised.

"You appear rather somber, Voltlyn, is something the matter?"

"Well…"

"You know that you can talk with me, Voltlyn, I am more than willing to listen."

Voltlyn gazed at the floor for a long stretch of time, Typhous waiting patiently for a response. The lightning draken met his gaze once more and then sighed.

"Well, um…" Voltlyn rubbed her shoulder as she thought over her words. "I've been kind of hoping to meet some new people. Youguysaregreat, mind, but I'd… well I'd like to… expand my horizons?"

Typhous blinked and smiled. "Oh, really? That's all? And here I was worried," he snickered and gave her a friendly nod. "Of course I can help you with that. Is there any kind of person in particular you would like to meet? Any groups? There are plenty of groups and clubs here in the Dragon Temple you know. "

"Oh. Um… no I didn't," Voltlyn gave a wan smile. "And as for, um, as for who… well, is there anyone I might like?"

Typhous gave her an amused look. "That's a rather vague request but I'll try to give some suggestions you might like. The first that comes to mind is the Art Club."

Voltlyn's eyes widened. "Art club?"

"It is a fascinating group, though the name is rather unoriginal. Though I suspect that was on purpose. They're a group of students who study, create and display various artworks. It's rather diverse but I found it rather difficult to get into. You need to be an artist, hence why I'm not an active member, though I have helped sell many of their pieces. I could introduce them to you if you want."

Voltlyn beamed. "That would be fantastic Typhous. Thank you."

Typhous gave a short bow. "You are most welcome Voltlyn. Do you want to hear about any more or is that enough for now?"

"Um…" Voltlyn hesitated for a moment, her eyes glazing over. "Well, I think I'll pass for now… I don't want to overwhelm myself."

"That sounds more than reasonable," Typhous nodded. "When would you like to meet them? I could schedule something for tomorrow, if you want?"

"Well, how about in a couple days," Voltlyn asked, slightly flushed. "I… um… I want to get ready for it and I don't think I'll be able to do that by tomorrow."

"Alright, how after Lyr's duel with Thunder?" Typhous suggested. "Seems like as good a time as any."

"Alright, I'm good with that."

Typhous gave another bow and then turned to exit her room. "Well Voltlyn, I must be off now. I promised to meet with my father and I'm already a tardy. I am most glad I could help though, and if you ever need my help again do feel free to call me up."

At a nod in return from Voltlyn Typhous took off, heading for the nearest landing platform. Voltlyn sat back for a moment, contemplating all that happened. A sensation of exhaustion hit her and she stumbled to the door to shut it, before flopping down on her bed. All the strain from the cleaning and walking and the emotions that have been racing through her left her feeling almost entirely burnt out.

And, curled up on her bed, with the sun still hanging in the noon sky, Voltlyn decided that maybe she should give herself a bit of a rest. She shut her eyes to rest her tired body and soon fell fast asleep, sailing across the dreamless depths into the evening.

* * *

Typhous stepped out of the Temple and into the gardens, smiling as the cool breeze rustled his scarf. The pleasure of the wind was cut short though, when the clouds shifted in the sky to bare the sun once more. The wind dragon winced as it lanced into his eyes and scorched his scales. The noon summer heat was intense today, enough so that Typhous could swear he saw ripples in the air above the ground.

Sighing morosely, Typhous called upon his element to create a bustling wind about himself to cool his scales. Typhous enjoyed that for a moment and then, on a whim, changed the direction of the small cyclone he'd created for himself so that it blew his scarf and cape back dramatically. Satisfied he set out on a walk, trying to enjoy the sights and smells while he focused on keeping the wind alive.

Typhous meandered about the gardens for a while, sniffing the flowers and sketching out particularly nice vistas. It was great to get away from his dad again. After spending the past two hours being hauled around the Temple and enduring his chatter a refreshing walk was just what he needed. Of course, Aephion didn't know he was here, Typhous had told him that he was going for a nap so that he wouldn't follow him. It was not like Aephion would actually look out here anyway. Even when he had a well-kept garden in his manor he never went out into it.

Typhous' thoughts wandered on as he walked but the strain of keeping the wind alive soon began to weigh down on him. The silver grey dragon exhaled slowly and let the wind die. He took off, flapping up above the canopy of trees to circle down a fair distance away by a small grove. He turned to walk into the small forest, relieved to be in the deep shade and away from the vicious hammer of the sun.

A short distance into the miniature forest Typhous stopped to lay down by the large pond at its center. He smiled and removed his scarf and cape, folding them gently by the pond side before wading in. Typhous groaned in pleasure as the cool water soaked his scales. He paddled about for a few minute as he enjoyed the sensation of it before finally pulling himself free. He shook himself dry a short distance away from his clothing and then lay back down on top of them, to gaze at his reflection.

The grey dragon gazed at himself for a long time. He proceeded to preen and polish the patches of dirt off of his scales, humming as he splashed water onto his scales. Then a rustling behind him caused Typhous to start and whirl about to face the intruder.

…

Lyrith staggered to a halt, to slump against the battlements of the Temple wall. His chest heaved as he struggled for breath. Sweat dribbled down Lyr's lithe snow-white body as the sun beat down on him. He wiped a paw across his brow and looked around at the scenery around him. Lyrith had gotten fairly far around the Outer Temple wall, with the last stretch to the starting point within sight. To his right the Temple Gardens beckoned him with its promise of shade and water, but he ignored it. Instead he forced himself back to his paws and began running once more, pushing himself to finish his third lap.

Lyr's legs burned as he raced towards the finish, his eyes trained on the covered bowl of water he'd left for himself there. He surged forward as he neared, hurtling across the last couple meters. He ground to a halt by the bowl and eagerly dunked his face into it. He drank several grateful gulps of the warm water and then doused himself with the last of it. He sagged down against the battlements, panting for breath.

The water evaporated off his scales in under a minute and, ravenously, the sun resumed scorching his scales. Lyr groaned and covered his eyes with a paw, muttering to himself. With considerable effort he returned to his paws, grabbed the bowl and made his way down the nearby steps into the garden. The shade of the trees was ancestor sent as Lyrith walked unsteadily through the underbrush.

"Sprinting that third lap… probably wasn't such… a good idea," Lyrith panted, his aching lungs screaming despite the plenitude of air he gave them. Nearly every muscle hurt to some extent, a light throbbing sore that permeated his body. He'd started the day at the forge with Deran, his adoptive father. Their single ice-wind rune gave them no respite in the packed smithy, the blaze of the forge made infinitely worse by the unforgiving sun. The work hadn't been all that hard, since much of the time was spent drinking gallons of ice water, which was one of the only things that kept them alive in the furnace of a building. The jog had seemed like a good idea at the time, as the air after leaving the smithy had seemed somewhat cool. It became much less so halfway through the first lap.

Lyrith took a moment to lean up against one of the trees to rest his legs. He tried to swallow but his throat was of similar consistency to swamp mud and it refused to budge. The albino peered about, trying to remember where the nearest source of water was.

"If I recall correctly," he muttered to himself as he made his way through the path. "There was a pond nearby…" his blood red eyes alighted upon the small forest to his left and he grinned, slipping into the shade and jogging towards the distant gleam of water. Lyr slowed as he caught sight of someone humming ahead of him, a frown creasing his face. Lyr slipped into a crouch and made his way carefully forward, wondering who it was.

Lyrith peeked through the bushes and blinked in surprise. Before him a grey wind dragon was washing himself at the edge of the pond, a jaunty hum filling the pollen soaked air. A pile of discarded accessories lay beside him, all of them brightly colourful against the dark green grass. Lyrith, curious, took a step towards him.

The grey dragon whirled about to stare at him, his muzzle falling open in horror. Lyrith blinked once more, his eyes locking onto his face.

"Typhous?" he asked, frowning.

"Um... hello Lyrith," Typhous smiled wanly, his eyes darting to the wreath and then back to Lyr. "I didn't hear you coming… I was just relaxing by the pond for a bit. Care to join me?"

Lyrith raised an eye ridge but nodded, moving over to the grey dragon and slumping down a short distance away from him. He dunked his head into the water once more, gulping down a couple mouthfuls of the cool water. Typhous watched him drink as he took a few deep breaths.

"So, Lyrith, what exactly are you doing out in this dreadful heat?" Typhous asked as Lyrith poured some water over himself.

"I was doing some laps."

Typhous stared at Lyrith, aghast. "You were doing… whatever for?"

Lyrith looked back to Typhous, raising an amused eye ridge. "Because I could."

Typhous shook his head, astounded, not sure how to reply to that.

"And you?"

Typhous stiffened, frowning. "And me what? Oh. I'm out here to escape my father. He won't want to come out here in this heat when the Temple is still nice and cool."

"Yeah, speaking of which they need a few more ice-wind runes in the smithy," Lyrith groaned and took another gulp of water.

Typhous winced. "I imagine so. How can you manage all this, Lyrith? A run, and a shift working in the forge, in this ancestor forsaken weather?! I simply cannot comprehend it."

"You get used to it."

Typhous simply shook his head in amazement.

For a moment there was silence between them. Lyrith stared into the water and occasionally poured more over him to cool his scales. Typhous stared off into the woods, thinking to himself. Then Lyrith looked back over to Typhous, an eye ridge cocked. "Why don't you like your dad?"

Typhous started, eyes widening. "Well… it's not that I don't like my dad. I really do love him. It's just that he…" Typhous struggled for words. "He… I don't know. He constantly irritates me. I know that it is not intentional but it still happens."

Lyrith frowned. Typhous glanced away, his eyes averted to the ground. He shifted restlessly, as if ready to bolt. The white dragon considered calling him out on his lie, but decided against it. Of all dragons he was one who had no right to call another out for hiding the truth about one's self.

Typhous noticed Lyrith nod and look back down at the pond. The grey dragon returned his gaze to Lyrith, frowning lightly. He became intimately aware of the scars crossing the white scales of the albino's body and a sudden uneasiness swept him. Thoughts he had tried to keep hidden surfaced as he examined Lyr's white hide, churning in his head. He couldn't banish them, just as he couldn't look away from the snow white scales. The pressure in the center of his chest grew, building and swelling until it became unbearable.

Lyr finally looked up from the pond and stared into Typhous' face. "What is it?" he demanded, his voice stark.

Typhous jumped, his turquoise eyes flashing to Lyr's red ones. His muzzle opened and closed a few times as he struggled to speak. Then he breathed deep, once, twice and then he spoke.

"Lyrith… you've been a victim of prejudice for a long time, right?"

Lyrith snorted. "Oh, is it that obvious?"

Typhous blanched but pushed on, despite the regret that flashed in his mind. "How did you handle it? How did you handle the scorn and abuse?"

A single brow of Lyrith's furrowed. "Well… when it's thrown at you all the time you just have to learn to take it. I built up scar tissue to help ward off the blows and learned to strike back with greater force to keep them away. Often times literally," Lyrith gestured to the scars on his body. "Why do you ask?"

Typhous shut his eyes and took several deep breaths. He had to say it. He couldn't hold it in anymore, especially not now. And there was no way to be sure without giving it away anyway.

"Lyrith I'm… I'm homosexual," Typhous said in a rush, flushing deeply. He looked away from Lyrith, eyes shut, waiting for the reaction.

Lyrith jerked back, eyes flying wide. That statement had been the absolute last thing he had anticipated. He stared at Typhous, who all but cowered before him. Lyrith blinked a few times, the shock quickly fading.

"I hope you didn't say that because you want to date me," Lyrith said slowly. "Because I'm not really interested in that sort of thing."

Typhous peered from under his wing, startled. "Well, no. I just…" The wind dragon slowly sat up, staring at Lyrith anxiously. That hadn't been the reaction he'd expected at all. He was happy it wasn't fury, but the banality of Lyr's reply seemed ridiculous.

Lyrith gazed back at Typhous, his brow furrowed. The question about prejudice was starting to make more sense now. After the war with Malefor the remnants of the dragon race had begun desperately trying to repopulate. Having been so close to annihilation reproduction became the priority for nearly everyone. During those first few years countless eggs were laid. The tradition of the Year of the Dragon was dropped in favour of reproduction at any time and dragons became encouraged to reproduce much younger than was typically custom. Though as some taboos were dropped, others came into being. Those that refused or couldn't mate to reproduce were shunned and became pariahs. As Lyr understood it, the cultural castration of homosexual dragons was worse than anything done to the albinos for many years. While the worst of the hatred faded after the first decade passed and the tension on the species lessened, the ghost of it still remained. Lyrith might never have even known had he not found it in a few of his history books.

"So… so you don't hate me?" Typhous asked finally, gazing into Lyr's thoughtful face.

Lyrith snapped to attention and snorted. "It would be rather stupid of me to start hating you for that, wouldn't it? After all, you don't seem to hate me for this," Lyrith tapped his white shoulder with a claw. Typhous sighed in relief, a smile crossing his face.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say."

"Good," Lyrith huffed, looking away. "If I'm going to be predictable at least it should be in a positive way."

Typhous laughed weakly at that and Lyr grinned.

"I assume this has something to do with your dad."

Typhous frowned at that.

"You brought it up right after I asked about him. And you weren't very convincing when you told me that you didn't know why he annoyed you."

"Oh," Typhous sighed. "I suppose I'm fairly obvious too then," he chuckled. "Well, honestly you're the first one I've ever told about it. Dad does not know and for good reason. I'm his only son and heir. My mom died when I was an egg so he's never been willing to take another mate and therefore has never had another hatchling."

Lyrith nodded slowly, taking it all in.

"And so he is always trying to relate with me, get to know me and such. It was fun at first but now… now that I'm of age all he can think of is me getting hooked up. I think he really wants to see his line continue and so he's always searching for females for me. And it hurts because I can't tell him without disappointing him and…"

Lyrith listened as Typhous began to ramble, the white's expression growing dour.

"_I've always had to deal with my problems head on. I've gotten used to it. The bullying, the comments and the threats. But with Typhous the prejudice is invisible. What must that be like, having that kind of secret?"_

"I just don't know what to do," Typhous simpered, curling up tight. "If I do not hook up with a female soon he'll likely begin plans for arranging a marriage and I don't think I could take that. There's no way out but if I tell him…"

"Typhous," Lyrith murmured, turning to him.

Typhous blinked and wiped his eyes. "Yes?"

"How about we go down to Darrowlight for a while? I don't know, grab a bite or something," Lyrith smiled, meeting Typhous' gaze. "We could chat more there, if you want. The heat is killing me."

Typhous stared at Lyrith for a bit and then smiled himself. He got up and reclaimed his scarf and cloak.

"There… there aren't exactly many places down in Darrowlight that are all that cool..."

"We could go back into the Temple, though I figured you wouldn't want to at the moment," Lyrith shrugged, rising himself.

"I really don't," Typhous sighed, shaking his head.

"Then we'll find a spot. Even if it's just in an icebox."

"That would not be very comfortable," Typhous chuckled. "Though I believe there is a meatball shop owned by a family of ice drakes we could go to."

"Sounds good."

Lyr and Typhous stepped out of the forest and back into the garden, making their way towards the Temple entrance.

**Dardarax's Characters:**

Lyrith, Typhous, Savron, Tirren, Igneous, Sleet

Dyama, Lucy, Typhia, Flaresse

Deran

Poor Voltlyn… XD Well, she seems to be recovering at least.

So, this is a long chapter I've been waiting for for quite a while. I'm sure many of you already guessed Typhous' sexuality (or saw it displayed in a particular comic) but it's finally out there. More importantly, the explanation as to why he's been keeping it a secret. It's been an idea bouncing around my head for a while and I think it works well, along with the reason why the Year of the Dragon thing isn't in use anymore. =)

Now, I haven't had a chance to play with the homophobia aspect much in this setting, mainly because I didn't want to have it being spouted without proper context as to why. It took Typhous a long time to reveal this, and if I had started in DL 1 people might have gotten the wrong idea. That may change now, since its reveal. And no, I don't intend Typhous to be my only representation of homosexuality in Dark Legacy. He's my main one, but not the only one. =)

Anyway, to close off this rather serious Author's note: Next chapter will have the duel between Lyr and Thunder (as hinted at by Typhous). =3 Enjoy.

Ps. Also, Go check out Ardwolf's profile on fanfiction! He's a great guy who's helped me out a bit with some problems I've been having with DL! He's also a pretty dang good writer! I highly recommend you go take a look at his stuff. =)

Pps. Thanks to Goldie and Rurik for editing this chapter! :D

Ppps. Next update is on September 27th!


	8. Resurgence

Chapter 8: Resurgence

By Dardarax

_Dislcaimer:__ I, Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Spyro, Cynder, the Temple, the Guardians, Warfang or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. Most people say the cake is a lie, but that isn't true. For you see, it isn't just the one cake that is a lie; the very concept of cake is a lie. Cake does not exist, nor has it ever existed or will ever exist in the future. That begs the question then, what have you been eating all this time then? What have we all been eating? Anyway, I do own several characters that will appear in the following chapter. Their names will be listed at the bottom._

The ringing of the hammer on metal quieted as Lyrith stepped up to the smithy. He stood outside for a moment, a grimace on his face as the heat washed over him. Then he strode deeper inside, gazing around at the interior. It was a large room, though the tools of the trade took up most of it. A large forge stood at the back, most of it melded with the walls. The front of it stuck out into the chamber however, so that the bellows and coal grate were easily accessible. The anvil was placed a few meters from the open grate, where the metal was placed to heat.

Standing by the trough of water placed against the wall was a bulky adult earth dragon. Deran was clad in a yellow apron and an iron facemask, both of which clashed with his deep green colouring. His two foreclaws bore the tools of dragonic metalwork, the hammer gauntlet and the claw glove. The former was a hefty glove that fit over Deran's right paw and ran all the way up to his knee. There were no claw holes in this glove, instead replaced by a large block of steel in which the whole of his paw fit. The majority of the block was located around the pad of his paw, the base of which was perfectly flat, like the hammers cheetah and canine smiths used and it could be swung to similar effect. The claw glove was similar, though made of heftier leather and topped with a large mechanical pincer instead of a block of metal.

Lyrith had no idea how to properly handle the tool, but the white had seen his father use it many times to expertly remove hot metal from the forge and hold it in place on the anvil to be hammered. Deran dropped the blade he had been holding into the trough of water and shook the gloves off of his paws. Once free he pulled the mask from his face and gave his adoptive son a large grin.

"There you are Lyr! I was wondering when you'd show up!"

"Yeah, well I had to avoid the crowds getting here," Lyrith stepped forward with a grumble. "So it took me a while."

"Well it's good to know they're all excited for the upcoming match," Deran chuckled, shutting the grate to the forge and removing the apron from around his neck. "How many of them asked you to throw it in exchange for something?"

"Two groups approached me about it," Lyrith shrugged. A wicked smile creased his muzzle, made all the more twisted by the scars that crisscrossed his face. "I gave them an eloquently phrased refusal."

"Oh dear," Deran's muzzle twitched into a smirk. "Hope they won't be in the clinic for too long."

"Should be able to make it for the match," Lyrith snickered. "Though they may have a hard time seeing much of anything today."

"Just be glad I'm not officially a professor," Deran plodded over and gave Lyr a hefty pat on the back. "Because they're supposed to punish anyone who starts a fight in the halls."

"Right," the albino shook his head. "I don't want another duel on my paws so soon after this one."

"No, it really isn't good on your record here if you get into so many fights that quickly," Deran sat down and extended a paw to Lyrith, to give him a gruff but friendly shake. "Hey, mind helping me bring in some coal for the forge? A shipment just came in."

Lyrith shrugged. "Sure, I've still got some time left to kill before the match begins."

"Good. It's not that far away but it's a pain to drag it in all by yourself," Deran rose and led Lyrith outside and over to a gargantuan basin filled with coal. It was a fair distance away from the smithy, having been placed by the entrance of the Temple for inspection. Deran spoke briefly with the guards before he joined Lyrith by the basin's handles. The handles were thick bars set into the side of the basin with soft wood to more easily grip with fangs or claws. On either side of the handle extended two long metal poles just a bit higher up than the handle.

"So, we grip it in our jaws like this," Deran leaned down and bit down on the wood of the handle. "An get ur sulders uunder ta polsh," Deran shifted his body so that the poles lay across his shoulders. Then he lifted his side of the basin using his legs, to show Lyrith how it was done. Lyrith followed suit a moment later and soon they were carrying the basin back to the smithy, Lyrith leading the way with his back turned and Deran gazing over his shoulders to see where they were heading.

"Sho, fathhh-," Lyrith staggered slightly on a stone as he walked. He groaned at the sound of his muffled voice and momentarily pulled away from the handle. "Father, you think they'll get more ice-wind runes soon?"

"Hopefully," Deran let go of the handle himself to respond, Lyrith replacing his grip as he listened. "I sent in the request but it'll probably take a few more days."

"Oh, jhoy," Lyrith rolled his eyes. "Dhoo joo thhink tat… ergh, think that we'll get that order of claw blades finished in time without them? It's been so slow thanks to the heat."

"Yeah, we will," Deran sighed. "Though I might need to bring in a bit of extra help to do it. Enough about that, though. I want to know what's going on with you. We hardly ever get to talk and it's usually only during work."

"… What do you want to know?"

"What classes are you signed up for? Next semester is coming up in a week so surely you've decided on them by now," Deran shrugged. The action nearly tipped the basin over, forcing them to stop for a moment to steady themselves.

"Nothing much different from last year," Lyrith shrugged. "Most of it is follow ups. Magic history, Advanced combat, mathematics and the like. I'm taking Crystal agriculture and rune magic though. That's something I've been looking forward to for a long time."

"Right, good for you in trying those things out," Deran smiled. "They're complicated but I'm sure you can handle it."

Lyrith gave a brief nod and a smile of thanks.

"Anyway, after this duel we should go down to Darrowlight and find a pub to celebrate," Deran smirked. "It's been a while since we shared a few drinks together."

"Yeah, when was that exactly?"

"I think it was the day of your acceptance party, right?"

"Huh, I suppose it was."

"And if you have a special someone you can take them along as a date. We'll pay," Deran said with a sly smirk. Lyrith started, his blood red eyes meeting Derans.

"Uh… I don't really have a 'special someone' right now."

"Oh, pity," Deran grunted as he heaved the basin of coal down beside the forge and pulled away with a groan. "I'm sure Inferna would have loved to tease you about it. Make all sorts of embarrassing jokes about your sex-life and the like."

"Yeah, I bet," Lyrith rolled his eyes. Then a frown crossed his face. "Speaking of which, where's Inferna?" Lyrith stepped away from the basin and glanced around the smithy. "She was the one who sent the letter so I assumed she'd be here.

"Not sure," Deran frowned, also taking a look around. "I thought she'd arrive with you. I haven't seen her since I asked her to go and get you. She's probably intending to surprise-"

The grate to the forge burst open and Inferna jumped out, shouting 'surprise' at the top of her lungs. Both Lyrith and Deran let out shrieks of surprise as the glowing hot fire dragoness emerged from the blazing forge, her scales blackened by smoke and letting off a soft red glow. Inferna burst into hysterical laughter as her mate and adopted son scampered back in shock, crouching into defensive postures.

"You should… You should see the looks on your faces!" she giggled, picking a glowing coal from out of her horns. "That had to be the best reaction yet!"

"In… Inferna!" Deran stammered, utterly flabbergasted. "How? When? I don't…"

"How in the ancestors' name did you survive in that thing?!" Lyrith demanded, staring at the active forge she had just emerged from.  
"What part of Guardian of Flame don't you understand, Lyr?" Inferna snickered, stepping forward with a paw raised. She paused when she noticed Lyr taking another step back at the glow of her paw, realizing that it may not be a good idea to hug her son in her current state.

"Give me a moment," Inferna murmured, stepping out of the smithy and into the garden. Deran gazed after her, a look of utter bafflement and awe on his face. Together they glanced out of the forge to watch Inferna walking towards a nearby pond, the grass she walked upon bursting into flames at the touch of her molten body.

"Jeremiah!" she shouted, taking a few quick steps and leaping into the air, to dive head first into the pond. The water exploded into a cloud of steam as it came in contact with her body, followed by a high pitched shriek. "COLD! COLD COLD COLD Cold COLD!"

Inferna pulled herself out of the cloud of steam hastily, much of the pond now floating in the air about her. She danced about the shallow water, continuing her string of 'colds' as she slowly dipped her body back into the water. Finally she stopped speaking and simply sighed happily, laying in the shallow puddle of water only paw high for the Guardian.

"Come on in! The water's fine!" she giggled, splashing a paw into the puddle for emphasis. Deran and Lyrith looked to one another with raised eye ridges and started to chuckle, paws moving to their faces. They stepped out and stamped out the flames as they approached the steam cloud Inferna had created.

"To answer the question you didn't quite finish, I snuck into the forge when your back was turned!" she shouted as she stood up to greet her family.

"Well your plan worked," Deran laughed breathlessly. "You scared me half to death with that stunt! That was just about the last place I expected anyone to emerge from!"

"Then my job here is done," Inferna beamed.

"Um… no it's not. You still haven't told me why you called me here!" Lyrith called over to her, an expression of disbelief still etched onto his muzzle. "And only an hour before the duel. I should be doing my stretches right now."

"Oh, right," Inferna stepped out of the pond and headed towards the smithy again, shaking the condensation from her scales. "We need to show you it still. Come on, let's not dally."

Deran and Lyr gave each other a sardonic look at this and followed after her, back into the smithy. Inferna strode passed the basin of coal and into a separate room from the smithy. Lyrith and Deran followed her into the armoury. Lyr had only been in there a few times to help Deran move large supplies of weapons and armour out for a buyer. The walls were covered in racks and display shelves, all of which were adorned with glittering steel and gold. Swords, axes, bladed gauntlets, and suits of armour covered nearly every inch of wall space in the armoury, which, while a small room still held a considerable amount of gear. Lyrith took stock of it all, trying to pick out the individual pieces he had helped Deran forged. Then his eyes settled on the suit of chain mail Inferna was prying from the wall. It was a thin, silvery coat of chain links, woven together into a flexible suit of armour. It boasted no plates of metal attached to it, like so many dragons preferred, leaving it light for greater mobility. The chain mail was decorated with individual links of coloured metal, gold and bronze which painted out the design of a hammer and anvil, backed with a wall of flames with bloodied talons hanging above it all.

Inferna passed the armour to Deran who in turn presented it to Lyrith, a proud grin on his face. The albino took it with a wide-eyed expression, feeling the flexible but strong chain armour in his paws.

"This… this is one of the better presents I've ever received," Lyrith looked up at them with a thankful but confused expression. "What's the occasion?"

"Do parents need a reason to give their son a gift now and again?" Inferna asked, leaning down to poke the top of his head with her snout.

"We've wanted to get you something special for a while," Deran grinned. "I've been working on it in my off time for months now. I had to rush a bit to get it all done for today. It should fit; Inferna gave me your sizes. Don't ask me how she knew."

Lyrith looked up with an expression of joy and confusion, as if not sure how to respond to this.

"Inferna, you only gave him half of the armour," Deran hissed into her earfrill.

Inferna slapped her forehead with a paw. "Right! The helmet and greaves!"

Lyrith watched as they scampered about the armoury, snatching up the last pieces of armour to present it to Lyr. The greaves were silvery bracers for each of Lyr's legs, the plates of each engraved with the bloodied talon symbol that decorated his chain mail. The ends of the greaves were mostly open to expose the pads of his paws, but were tipped with bladed claws special for slashing. The helm was also lightweight in construction, made up of thin but sturdy plates of metal and padding underneath to soften blows to his head. There were holes for each of Lyr's horns and it was designed to easily slide on and attach to his tusk like horns with rings on the end of straps. It was painted with the same symbol as the one on his chain mail.

Lyrith looked between them, still astonished by the gift they had given him. They glanced at one another with wide smiles.

"Do you want help putting it on?" Inferna asked with a sly grin. Lyrith rolled his eyes.

"No thanks. I'd rather not put myself in a position for you to embarrass me."

"Aw," Inferna pouted, eliciting a laugh from Deran.

"It's magically reinforced so it's usable in the tournament, Lyrith," Deran explained as they stepped out of the armoury. "And trust me when I say that it's better than any of the regular armours that they lend out to students for such occasions."

A wide smile creased Lyr's muzzle and he placed the helmet atop his head, strapping it in place.

"I was hoping you'd say that. I always preferred practical gifts over ornamental ones…"

* * *

Lyrith stepped out into the sandy pit of the arena and took a long drag of the stale air. The sound of the crowd rose to a fever pitch, wild applause greeting the albino. The sound of hundreds of paws and hands hammering together filled the air with a roar that echoed around the bowl shaped battleground. Lyrith felt his heart skip a beat at the sound, a sense of warmth swelling in his breast at the applause. His posture straightened Lyrith strode into the center of the arena where Inferna sat waiting for him. She gave him a proud grin as he came to a halt in front of her in the center of the ring of pillars.

The fire Guardian eyed his getup with approval, noting the thin, silvery chainmail, helm, and greaves he wore. It clung to his body loosely, allowing him plenty of freedom of movement. The greaves and helm though were firm fits, lashed tightly to his frame. The silvery metal blended with his scales, which made the designs of the armour stand out all the more brilliantly. Then her eyes settled on the battered looking scarf Lyrith wore, and an eye ridge raised in puzzlement. Lyrith returned the look with a nod and a stiff smile.

"It looks good on you. Matches your eyes," Inferna cracked a grin and met his gaze. "Though I don't know why you chose that scarf in particular."

"I have my reasons," Lyr brought a paw up to the scrap of cloth to feel it over with a smirk. "Didn't expect you to be the referee," Lyrith gave a grunt and looked away from his mother.

"Not referee, just announcer," Inferna sighed. "No cheating on my end, I can assure you."

"Damn," Lyrith smirked and rolled his eyes. "Not that I'd need it or anything."

"I hope not."

Lyrith shifted his attention to the arena around him. The drifts of sand had been levelled since the last duel, leaving the battlefield a mostly flat plane of sand. The pillars had similarly been straightened so they no longer leaned precariously over, threatening to crush the combatants under them at a moment's notice. The pond was as wide and deep as ever, though Lyrith could just faintly make out a glow in its depths. Likely some Magic Gems planted there for combatants to find and use. The random bits of scenery had been changed as well; the old rope and helm had been exchanged for a torn banner placed just off to Lyr's left and a huge chain hanging off of one of the pillars. The assortment of shells and the burlap sack that was usually there remained however.

The gate on the opposite side of the arena ground open and Thunder stepped out clad in a set of steel plate armour. The giant of a dragon loped across the field towards him, the pair of dark eyes gazing coolly at him from behind the visor. The twin lightning bolt shaped horns jutted forward from his helm and wicked spikes were placed along the plates of his armour. Lyrith felt a slight shiver at the supreme confidence in Thunder's barely visible smirk but forced it down to return one of his own.

The dual element dragon came to a halt several paces askance from Lyrith and stared him down, his head almost craned to gaze at the smaller albino. Lyrith glared up at him defiantly, his red eyes narrowed as he peered into his visor.

Thunder's chuckle reverberated from his helm. "For once I'm actually glad to see you, milky. I was sure you'd back out at the last minute."

Lyrith snorted in response. "And I was sure you just had, given how late you were. Shame, I was hoping I wouldn't have to put more dents in that ugly mug of yours. After I'm done with you, you won't want to take that can off of your head."

Thunder's grin widened and he gave an amused but sinister chortle. "Trust me, Lyrith, you'll wish you had backed out by the end of this."

"Now then, the rules of this match," Inferna looked between them with a cough. "Standard fare. No Dragon Gems unless found in the arena, with disqualification as the penalty. The match will be won if the opponent surrenders, falls unconscious or is subjected to the death grip…"

Lyrith nodded along as Inferna spoke, subtly digging his tail-blade into the dirt behind him to ground himself. His best bet was to go for the Death grip. As strong as Thunder was Lyrith knew he was wiry enough to keep a grip on his neck for the five seconds required. The jolts of lightning Thunder would surely put through him would make it difficult to fight back but it would also seize his jaw shut making for a more effective lock. And if Lyrith could position himself right, Thunder wouldn't be able to use his sound magic to fight back either. Regardless, Thunder was unlikely to surrender and in that heap of scrap metal it would be impossible for Lyrith to outright knock him out without an element.

"Furies are forbidden and will result in disqualification and, as with the grave injuries rule, will result in potential expulsion if its use causes severe bodily harm. Otherwise all magic is permitted," Inferna glanced down to Lyrith, who gave her a nod of approval. "Finally, forced removal of protective armour is against the rules and the battle must stop if an attack causes a piece of the armour to fall off until such a time as it is back in place. Willing removal of the armour is not subject to this rule though more than half of your body must be covered at all times. Disqualification will result if one fails to uphold either of these rules," Inferna looked between them and gave a small smile. "You may begin."

The two glanced up as Inferna took off, showering them in sand for a moment. Lyrith flinched and immediately went on guard, waiting for the inevitable attack. It never came. The sand settled and the white dragon saw Thunder standing exactly as he had before, staring at Lyrith with a smile, his eyes watching his every move. Lyrith's vision narrowed and he waited. Thunder seemed oddly relaxed, sitting on his haunches as he watched Lyrith with an amused smirk. On the other paw Lyrith nearly vibrated with pent up energy, expecting an attack at any moment.

The crowd's cheers fell away as the two stood their ground, eyes locked on one another. Lyrith hadn't expected Thunder to take the cautious route. Thunder, being the aggressive and huge drake he was, was optimally built for an immediate aggressive assault, especially in his clunky armour. Hanging back to watch and wait for the other foe to move was a choice more suited for a lightning fast dragon like Lyrith.

"_No matter,"_ Lyrith thought, his gaze never leaving Thunder's paws. _"I can adapt. And it'll give me the clear upper paw. His sitting posture will make it much more difficult for him to defend himself from an attack to the side."_

Lyrith hesitated only a second before he lunged, the sand kicked up in a cloud behind him. The moment Lyrith moved Thunder lumbered to his paws and met the albino's charge head on. The white had different plans however and stopped after only a couple steps to whip around and strike the sand in front of Thunder with his tail. A burst of the grit shot up into the air straight into Thunder's visor and muzzle as the yellow dragon prepared to roar a blast at him. Thunder reeled back, pulling up his visor to scrub at his eyes as he coughed and wheezed, the sand having gone down his throat. Elated, Lyrith jumped to Thunder's left and charged his flank, Thunder too busy trying to clear himself of sand to notice where he was.

Lyrith pounced, a paw raised to strike down on the back of his neck, hoping to bring Thunder low. The blow connected at full force, the steel gauntlet of Lyr's crashing thunderously into the yellow dragon's neck-plate. Lyrith didn't even have a chance to feel the satisfaction of such a blow, as his entire body lit up with pain. Lyrith's eyes flew wide and he collapsed to the ground twitching as electricity coursed through him. Thunder whirled around to face Lyrith and toppled on top of him, pinning him underneath in one fell move. Thunder planted a huge paw on Lyrith's chest, causing the pain and seizure to renew as lightning jolted through the albino's body. Thunder glared down at him with watering, narrowed eyes.

Lyrith flailed under him, his mind flashing as he tried to regain control of his body. Desperately he managed to aim one of his twitching legs under Thunder to kick him right between the hind legs. The force of the flailing kick threw the big lightning dragon off of him and to the ground a short distance away. The pain quickly faded and the twitching stopped, leaving Lyrith lying on the sand completely out of breath. Thunder rose slowly back to his paws and wiped the last of the sand from his eyes. Lyrith's heart, which had been jittering along with the electricity, began hammering with adrenaline as he realized that there was a fight still going on. The albino rolled to the side, just in time to avoid a mighty roar from Thunder. The blast of sound tore up a trench of sand, throwing it into the air in a thick cloud.

Back on his paws, Lyrith raced behind one of the pillars, avoiding two more bolts of lightning as he went. Lyrith came to a stop behind the pillar to catch his breath, Thunder's laugh echoing around the stadium, despite the gasps, cheers and jeers coming from it.

_"What was that?"_ Lyrith thought as his panting slowed. _"What did he do? How?"_ Lyrith peered around the pillar to try and catch a glimpse of Thunder, only to have to duck back to avoid a bolt of lightning. Lyr charged between some more pillars, to buy him some time to think. _"Was that lightning? How? I didn't see him hit me. How did he sustain it?"_ Lyrith finally caught his breath, though the thud of his heart still rang in his ear frills. _"It happened when I hit him, but it could have just been an area surge like in our first battle. Though how did he know when to use it? I blinded him!"_

"Come out little coward!" Thunder's voice jeered, overpowering the crowd with ease. "I know you're there! I can hear your breathing…"

Lyrith bolted from behind the pillar to another one. A moment later Thunder leaped around the pillar and slammed his paw against it, the bladed talons shrieking against stone. Thunder frowned and cast about, searching for the albino. Lyrith crept through the sand around a pillar a short distance from Thunder, moving so that he was behind the huge yellow drake. As Lyrith moved into position he tore off the scarf he wore and shredded it, to stuff the scraps into his earfrills. He'd need protection in case Thunder decided to turn to the cheers of the crowd against him, like he did in the first duel.

_"It was probably just a fluke surge. He had to have known I would attack him when he was blinded, it's just common sense. He might have even anticipated it as my first attack."_

Lyrith picked up a stone in the sand with his jaws and tossed it to a pillar by Thunder. The rock thumped into the sand and, as Lyrith expected Thunder whirled to face it, his hearing likely selectively amplified by his sound magic. Almost as soon as the rock hit the sand Lyrith was on the move, hurling straight for the yellow dragon's back. The crowd rose to a great cheer as Lyrith descended upon the distracted Thunder, ready for the clash of claws.

Lyrith saw the sparks arcing off of Thunder's armour a second too late. Lyr tried to twist out of the way but his claws struck Thunder's head regardless, sending a storm of pain up through the white's body. Fortunately the force of the blow caused Thunder to stagger, ending contact with him. Lyrith staggered back, stunned from the jolt of electricity. Thunder turned to face him with a huge grin. Before his paw could descend Lyrith rolled across the ground, just barely gaining control of his body in time. He rose to his paws and bolted once more, Thunder's lightning breath just narrowly missing him.

Lyrith cursed himself as he staggered to a halt behind some more pillars. _"Dammit! How did I not see it before!"_ Lyrith spat to the side, panting hard. _"He charged his armour with lightning! Simple conductivity! He pumps electricity out of his scales into the metal plate which he then controls. I make contact I get shocked. Badly. Simple, subtle, easy to maintain and deadly."_ Lyrith stalked away from his pillar to a new one, trying his best to ignore the crowd's booing and demands for him to drake up and fight. _"Alright, I can work around this. He has to drop the charge eventually or he'd run out of magic, especially if he's putting enough power in to get passed the protective enchantments of my armour… But how would I know that? I couldn't see the sparks until I was right up close to him. Dammit!"_ Lyrith sighed and continued to think. _"If I catch him by surprise I'll be able to get him… but I already tried that and it didn't work. He's not an idiot. He doubtlessly keeps it up so long as he doesn't know where I am. He knows how I fight."_

"There you are!" A bolt of lightning struck Lyrith in the back, causing Lyr's legs to crumple under him. Lyrith gasped as he hit the dirt, Thunder stomping up towards him with a huge grin on his face. The white dragon quickly recovered, much of the jolt having been absorbed by the armour and he kicked out a clod of sand into Thunder's face. Thunder jerked back, covering his face with a wing to protect himself. Lyrith scampered back up to his paws and ducked behind another pillar, out of sight.

"See what a coward he is!" Thunder laughed after a moment, addressing the crowd. "And you want this fool to win! Hahahaha!"

Lyrith ground his fangs together in anger. He knew this was a trick to try and force him to fight on equal grounds, which would have been the equivalent of surrendering, but it still irked Lyr to no end. _"How I can't wait to get my jaws around his neck!"_ Lyr thought with a smirk. And then it hit him. In his mind he watched as all of his strategies fell apart. All of his battle plans, his moves and his tricks collapsed as the foundation of his battle style gave way. This was the perfect counter. No matter what Lyrith did, no matter what strategy he took he would inevitably have to make contact. The plate armour, the lax beginning of the match and his under use of all but the most basic magic were all part of this one perfect counter. Thunder conserves power by using only the simplest of sound and lightning magics, which also invites Lyr into attacking up close, as if there was a weakness. The plate armour ensured that he would never be taken out with a single blow or easily shoved over to allow for a quick death grip. And the death grip itself would be impossible to engage without making contact first, rendering Lyr's favourite style of victory moot.

Had Lyr been any other breed of dragon he could have worked around this. Had he had even the weakest of element Lyrith could have used it to counter the charged armour with ranged attacks. Thunder had singled out the one fundamental aspect of Lyr's fighting technique and taken it away from him.

Lyr's mind raced as he searched for any reliable strategy he could take.

_"How in the ancestor's name am I supposed to fight if I can't attack him?" _Lyrith snarled and jumped behind some new pillars to avoid Thunder for a while longer. _"No, don't panic. There's a way. There's always away. Alright, I can't topple one of these pillars on him since that would likely kill him. Sand won't work even if I managed to hit him since it wouldn't ground the lightning…"_

Lyrith started as Thunder rounded the corner and smirked. "Finally I found you, you coward. Come, let us fight drake to drake, it's what the crowd wants."

Lyr sneered in response, forcibly pushing the sound of the booing crowd to the back of his head. They didn't matter right now. "What? And give you the advantage? You know that's not my style Thunder."

Thunder chuckled. "That just proves how much more of a dragon I am than you, lizard."

Lyrith glanced down at Thunder's armour and noticed that there weren't any sparks arching across it. His muzzle peeled back from his fangs. It was a ploy. Thunder was conserving power since he could easily charge it back up before Lyrith ever got to him. He looked up into Thunder's face to search for any sign of exhaustion as the yellow approached, but his helm hid most of his face from sight.

_"If I approach him, even just to evade and wear him out I'd be within range of a surge. I can't risk it. My armour is only designed to weaken elemental attacks. It can't negate them. But I can't keep hiding forever, the crowd is turning on me and soon they'll start pointing me out for him to get the fight rolling. I need a plan, NOW."_

Thunder swung a heavy, sparking paw at Lyrith who ducked out of the way, whipping around to kick up a cloud of sand with his tail. The albino skipped back and looked around, searching the area for something, anything. A burst of noise reverberated from beside Lyrith and the sand blew away, Thunder casting about for Lyrith.

"That trick is wearing thin lizard!" he roared, his voice booming over the jeering crowd. "Is that all you have left?"

Lyrith rolled out of the way of a charge of lightning aimed for his head, just narrowly anticipating it. He came back to his paws only to feel something cool and hard against it. He glanced down and he caught sight of a rock. A grin stretched across his muzzle and Lyr took it into his paws. A weapon, even if it would last him one hit it would be something to distract Thunder with. Lyrith slipped behind a pillar, giving Thunder ample opportunity to see him. Lyrith reared up on his hind legs and kept an eye on both sides of the pillar, waiting for Thunder to emerge, rock raised in his paw to strike out. He also cast a quick glance, hoping to find another strategy to fall back on after he used up this one. His blood red eyes settled on the glistening pool of water in the corner and an inspired grin spread across his face.

"Do you really think you can keep hiding from me, li…" Thunder bellowed, emerging from Lyr's right with a raised paw. Lyrith brought his down first. The stone struck Thunder across the top of the helm, protecting Lyr's gauntleted paw from the lightning and sending a gonglike ringing reverberating through the helm. Thunder yowled in pain and took a step back to try and quell the painful noise assaulting his already enhanced hearing. Lyrith bolted for the pool and sighed inwardly. Had it not been for that bucket of a helm Thunder would be down for the fight.

"Then again," Lyrith whispered, pulling his own helm off as he came to a stop by the pool and he took hold of its rim in his jaws. "A bucket is exactly what I need right now…" the white dragon scooped up the water and then took off behind some pillars before Thunder could see what he had just done. _"Not so different from how I beat him last time,"_ Lyrith mused, remembering how he had thrown a wooden bucket he had found in the arena to blind Thunder with sand. _"Only I'll give him a very different surprise this time…"_

Lyr took off as silently as he could, to soar around some of the pillars. He latched onto the hanging chain between two pillars and waited there, holding the half full bucket helm precariously in his jaw. He watched Thunder rounding the corners, hoping that the small vision slots through his visor and the distance would keep the lightning dragon from noticing Lyrith.

_"If I can douse him with natural water, it'll short out the flow of lightning through his armour and revert it into regular electricity. Not only will he lose control of it but it should shock him as well, forcing him to turn off the charge. If I can keep him wet for even a minute I can take him down."_

The crowd fell silent, all eyes on Lyrith as he hung there, watching Thunder scour the area below for any sign of him. Finally the burly lightning dragon twisted around some pillars and found himself directly under Lyrith's ambush. The white dragon shifted so that the bucket was right above where Thunder was moving and let it drop.

Thunder stiffened as the crowd gasped and instinctively looked up. His eyes widened at the sight of the bucket and he opened his muzzle, letting loose a humungous roar. The water and helm, which was hardly half a meter above him, were thrown back up into the air. The wave of sound carried the water all the way up to Lyrith and struck him, throwing him off of the chain and dousing him with water. Lyrith spun about in the air, dazed from the abrupt impact. He just barely regained control and unfurled his wings, just avoiding crashing into the ground, only for a bolt of lightning to strike him in the back.

Lyrith, soaked and ungrounded was hit hard by the lightning, causing him to howl in pain and slam into the sand with a thud. There was a long silence as Lyrith struggled to rise, his entire body shaking from the jolt of lightning. A loud raucous cheering rose from the audience, one that was accompanied by a chorus of groans.

Lyrith got to his paws only for the bolt of lightning to hit him again, taking him back down to the ground. Behind the twitching albino Thunder laughed breathlessly.

"I'm impressed!" he chortled, placing a paw on Lyrith's back, forcing him back down to the ground. "Had I been any other dragon, that trick of yours might have worked," Lyrith roared in pain as a bolt of lightning tore through him, causing his vision to darken. "Because I heard the helm drop even before the crowd alerted me, whitey," Thunder continued to laugh in the wake of his adrenaline rush, his eyes wide and full of energy. He leaned closer to Lyrith's earfrill and sent another powerful jolt through him, causing the crowd to hiss in empathy at the sound of his scream.

Lyrith struggled against Thunder, gasping for breath as he was pinned down, unable to fight back. Forced down on his stomach he couldn't do anything but lash vainly at Thunder's back with his tail, the blade screeching across the metal plates.

"But I will still give you kudos, Lyrith, for realizing what I had done and nearly countering it," Thunder lifted his other massive paw and gripped Lyrith's horn, shoving his face into the dirt. "You were as worthy a foe as last time."

Thunder lit up with sparks and Lyrith's soaked body was charged once again. Lightning coursed through his veins as Thunder pumped bolt after bolt into him. They were much weaker than before, but every bit as painful. Sight and sound faded, until only the pain was left. Lyrith tried to fight back, but the lightning combined with the immense weight of the steel clad giant of a drake left him unable to move, let alone fight. He gnashed his fangs as darkness took over his senses, wishing there was something, anything he could do.

...

...

...

And then it stopped.

Lyrith opened his eyes in confusion as the pain faded and the darkness receded. The weight lifted off his back and a sense of vitality surged through his limbs. He felt better than if he'd swallowed a dozen life crystals. Lyrith sprang back to his paws and rounded on Thunder to find the lightning dragon taking several steps back. His face was inscrutable at this distance, but Lyr could taste the fear. Lyrith roared a challenge and laughed with elation.

"What? Want a fair fight now, Thunder? Fine, let's go!"

The white dragon charged the yellow, zipping left and right to avoid the bolts of lightning and sound Thunder blasted his way. His aim was sloppy, as if fired in desperation, and not a single one even so much as tickled the white as he pounded towards him. Lyrith leapt and struck out with a paw. The gauntlet hammered into Thunder's face hard and sent him reeling. The yellow turned back and struck with a sparking claw. Lyrith ducked it as best he could but he winced as he clipped his horns, only to feel no pain. He smirked, realizing how weak the blow must have been and lunged forward to ram Thunder in the chest with his head. With a rough heave Lyr lifted him up and sent him toppling over to the ground.

The crowd was dead silent, as if muffled by Thunder's sound, which Lyrith understood perfectly. Why would a prideful dragon like Thunder want to hear the crowds' cheers as the 'lizard' snatched victory from the jaws of defeat once again? Thunder rolled sluggishly to his paws and blasted more with lightning, which Lyrith simply sidestepped, not even feeling the static.

He had never felt more alive than he had right now. A boundless energy surged through him, not a single ache ticked at his body and he felt faster and stronger than he ever had. He was reacting quicker than Thunder could blast him and the fear in Thunder's demeanour was deliciously clear.

Lyrith loped forward, licking his jaws in anticipation. Thunder took another two steps back, his breath ragged.

"Get… get back!" Thunder demanded with a rattling voice. "Stay away!"

"Why? Have you run out of magic?" Lyrith chuckled darkly. "Can you not keep up your 'lightning skin' any longer? How sad. Now let me return the favour."

Lyrith bounded forwards, his paws tearing up clouds of glistening golden sand. The faces of the shocked crowd and the flickering torchlight off of the marble pillars stayed in Lyr's mind, the world almost moving in slow motion as he lunged towards the panicking Thunder.

Thunder let loose a mighty roar, a colossal blast of sound tearing through the sand towards him. Lyrith stiffened, realizing that there wasn't enough time to dodge. He curled up into a ball, hoping to protect himself as best he could from the blast. Only for it to never come. Lyrith rolled to a stop and flipped back onto his paws, looking around. He was standing in the center of the trench the blast of sound had made only a few paw-steps away from Thunder. Thunder gazed at him, his eyes wide in terror. Lyrith blinked and then smirked, taking another step forward.

"You've lost your voice, Thundy?"

_"I should have felt something! Why didn't I feel anything?!"_

"Get away from me you… you freak!" Thunder roared, a static charge filling the area around him. Lyrith paused, his eyes wide as Thunder lifted up into the air and unleashed a storm of lightning in all directions, a colossal explosion tearing apart the field around them.

Lyrith dove away, knowing it was pointless. He was almost point blank to the lightning fury. Molten sand billowed out around him, a huge boom reverberating around the arena. And then there was nothing. No searing pain, no darkness, no unconsciousness.

Lyrith opened his eyes and looked about the crater around him. Aside from a fading burning sensation from the specks of molten glass there was no pain. He hadn't even moved position from where he'd landed in an attempt to avoid the blast. Thunder stood there, shuddering from the exertion, staring at Lyrith with an open muzzle. Lyrith took a step back, tension filling his gut. He shouldn't have survived that, at least not completely unscathed. Lyrith looked back around at the faces in the arena. Fear, apprehension and awe were etched into their expressions and all of it directed at him.

The gates ground open and Aquina, the medics and guards arrived, with the Guardians landing only a short distance away. They all approached Lyrith cautiously, eyes wide with fright and curiosity. Lyrith looked back to Thunder who had fallen onto his haunches, his terror joined with shocked awe. The tension grew in Lyrith's gut until it had transformed into terror. He turned and bolted to the pool and passed the Guardians, noticing them and their expressions of panic. Lyrith skidded to a halt by the pool and leaned down over it, his muzzle falling open at the sight.

Black, empty eyes stared back at him from a glowing, alien face. Tendrils of eerie light wriggled off of his shining scales, as if tasting or feeling the air about him. Lyrith stared uncomprehendingly, not recognizing himself for a moment. Then, almost as soon as he had seen himself the light faded along with the feeling of invigoration. Yet he felt just as refreshed as before, as if he'd never even been in a battle or was electrocuted into near unconsciousness.

Lyr turned to face the Guardians who stood around him, his blood red eyes wide.

"What… what happened to me?"

**Dardarax's Characters**

Lyrith, Inferna, Deran

Thunder

Dun dun duuuuuun! Our 'intrepid' hero finally gets the first glimpse of his hidden power! What will happen now that he has it? Will he discover its secrets, or will it be his undoing!? Tune in on **October 18****th** to find out!

Wow that fight scene was fun to write. XD

So yeah, I bet most of you were waiting for this for a long time. xD I wonder if this is how you expected it to turn out? Or if it was up to your expectations. =)

This chapter took me a while to finish, and it was one of the most difficult I had written for a while. The fight scene was relatively easy, but it was the first part that proved difficult to do. I had a lot of ideas that never made it onto this chapter. But that's probably for the best. =)

And yes, I'm moving the schedule to three weeks now. I have a lot of homework coming up in the next couple weeks and I need time to get that done and focusing too much on this would get in the way of it. Still I have no intention of stopping and I'll keep working on Dark Legacy despite it. I promise you you'll see the chapters on the dates I give, regardless of the amount of schoolwork I have. =3

Ps. Thanks to Rurik-Redwolf and Goldengriffiness for the help editing!


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